A Shadow in the Back of my Mind
by Owl At The End
Summary: The nightmare's not over. With a shadow now taking up residence in Jack's dreams, can the Guardians destroy the darkness before Jack falls under? (AU post movie timeline)
1. Numb

**Title: **A Shadow in the Back of my Mind

**Summary: **The nightmare's not over. With a shadow now taking up residence in Jack's dreams, can the Guardians destroy the darkness before Jack falls under?

**Rating: **T (later chapters)

**A/N: **Saw the movie and I have headcanons pouring out my ass. I obviously took some liberties with my headcanons in this story, including how Jack dreams/sleeps. Woo~

**I obviously don't own anything. **

**Chapter 1: Numb**

Jack Frost often dreamed in white. Icicles hung from his imagination and snow flurries buried his subconscious, bathing his dreams and thoughts in blizzards. This was how it had been since as long as he could remember, the cold that permeated his body becoming a comfort and a reminder of his immortality as his dreams swirled like snowflakes behind his eyes.

Against what children may believe, even the immortals needed their rest, and Jack loved sleeping; more importantly, he loved to dream. Before he became a Guardian, dreaming was a time when he could forget his loneliness and be surrounded by things and people that he didn't necessarily recognize but felt loved with. He would sun bathe and feel warmth in a way he couldn't as a winter spirit and swim with dolphins in water as shockingly blue as his eyes.

Jack was highly in tune with his dreams, to a point that even Sandy was impressed. The Sandman would often drop by to check on the sleeping spirit when he buried himself in blankets of snow in a secluded room in North's factory, always wondering how Jack managed to create a perfect dream world without help from the spirit of dreams.

And because Jack was so aware of what happened when he was asleep, he noticed immediately when something was wrong. What should have been an expanse of white in his mind was dimmed, and he felt a pulling at the back of his subconscious. Curiously, Jack made a full turn, whatever dream he had been happening falling away and quickly forgotten in exchange for discovering what this sensation was. It felt like pins and needles- a numbness that still managed to hurt.

He shifted uncomfortably and took a step back, gasping when he tripped over something behind his foot. Jack's staff was in his hands in a moment and he used it to catch himself. The boy turned to look at the ground but noticed it was nothing but a flat area of white. Tilting his head, Jack knelt down and ran his hands along the smooth floor. A spark of something caught his eye and he turned, spotting a dark spot in the distance of his mind. Getting up, Jack took off running after it and then pulled himself into the air to shoot after the diminishing darkness.

It was a while before Jack realized he wasn't getting any closer to the sensation. The thing hadn't moved, but apparently neither had he. Even as he hung, suspended, in the air he expected the darkness to recede but it stayed when it was. Jack awoke to thoughts of confusion.

That was the first morning that Jack woke up tired in a long, long while. Not thinking anything of it, Jack left his bed and went on with his day, eyeing a small town in Northern Virginia to give them an impromptu snow day in the middle of the high schools' finals week.

**/ / /**

That night while Jack slept, he fidgeted uncomfortably from underneath his snow drifts, the icy edges scattering around the bed when he kicked at them.

In his dream, Jack took a startled step backwards. The sensation had returned, and it was stronger. Jack wondered how it had happened, but the dark shadows reached their tendril further in front of itself and seemed to reach for him. Jack stood and watched the rolling movements of the tendrils, transfixed, as one reached out and caught him around the ankle. The arm pulled and brought Jack to fall onto his back. Jack, suddenly scared, let out a gasp and kicked at the arm.

The darkness didn't release him, and the shadow tightened his grip, growing more solid. Jack grit his teeth as sudden numbness shot up his leg and his staff was suddenly in his hand. Bringing the wood down onto the tendril, the blackness seemed to shriek at the contact before releasing Jack's leg and retreating back to its corner.

Jack closed his eyes and took an even breath before finally asking, "What?" aloud. Reaching a hand down he ran it along the length of his calf, rubbing it to remove the numbing tingles that pulsed through it, nervousness and adrenaline pumping through him. This was the first time Jack wished he could wake up.

Jack's eyes snapped open in the slowly lightening room. He had kicked his covers off some time in the night and he then reached down to tug them back up around his body. There he lay until the sun was shining a little brighter through the window and only then did he drag himself out of bed, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

When he stepped out of bed, his right leg gave out and he sent himself crashing to the floor, eliciting a quiet noise of surprise from him. Righting himself, Jack inspected his leg to notice a bruising along the area that the shadow arm had wrapped itself around.

Running a hand through his silver hair, idly watching snow drift down from the shaken strands, Jack closed his eyes. "What's going on?"

**/ / /**

It was North that eventually started noticing the change in Jack's demeanor, mostly because the jolly man was around most often. He first noticed it when he saw Jack gently push one of the elves out of the way instead of slicking the floor with ice and watching the poor thing tumble its way down the hall. As Jack dragged- dragged!- his staff down the hall after him, North stood up from his study and followed the winter spirit down the hallway.

The Russian Guardian watched as Jack tiredly pulled himself up onto one of the windowsills, pushing the glass open to let in a gust of bone chillingly cold wind. North let out a harrumph and stalked over to the boy.

"Ah, Jack." He began and Jack startled slightly, looking over his shoulder at the larger Guardian.

"Oh. North." He said before turning back to the window.

North furrowed his brow, "Jack. Why are you here and not out spreading winter? Why are you not out causing snow fights and sending the children and their families falling down sidewalks with ice? Hm?"

Jack let out a soft laugh, though it sounded more like an exhausted sigh. "I'm not feeling like it. Let them have a nice day for once. Is that so hard for me to do?" Jack leaned his head back against the wall, closing his eyes as a snow flurry found its way through the cracked window.

North tugged his jacket a little tighter, wondering what to ask this boy that North has taken such a paternal fondness to. "Are you eating all right, then?" Jack nodded so North continued to try and diagnose the problem. "You are not sick?" Jack shook his head. "You are sleeping comfortably?" This time Jack paused before shrugging his shoulder and North nodded.

"Very well. You will spend your day how you wish, but tonight we will tuck you into bed and you will drink warm milk. If it is trouble sleeping, I can help." North laughed and Jack gave him a tired smile.

That night Jack sat on the edge of his bed, bare toes idly drawing circles in the fallen snow on his floor, as he watched North carry in a tray of something. As the Guardian set the tray down, Jack inspected the platter, finding a cup of steaming milk along with a plate of cookies.

"These help?" He asked skeptically and North nodded.

"It is how I prepare for sleep every night!" He said, sounding proud of the fact.

Jack snorted and rolled his eyes, but was so exhausted and still concerned about the just now fading numbness of his leg that he figured he'd give it a shot. Taking a purple frosted cookie off the plate and the mug in his other hand, Jack downed both within a minute before putting the cup back. North looked pleased when Jack flopped backwards onto his bed and with a flick of his wrist dragged the snow from the floor up and on top of him.

"Thanks." He mumbled sheepishly when North stepped forward and tucked the edges of the drift around Jack's body.

"Of course. You will sleep well now, like me. I will see you in the morning, Jack. Sleep well." North gave his goodnight and gathered up the tray, popping a cookie in his own mouth.

That night Jack dreamt of dark arms ripping the ground out from beneath him and he woke to the sensation of falling forever, surprised to feel cold trails of dried tears at the corners of his face.


	2. Promises

**A/N Here's the next chapter… the first few are already written and will be coming every few days. Thank you for the reviews! They make me want to post faster even though I would like to keep on a schedule, but that probably won't happen! **

**Chapter 2: It's Nothing**

The first thing North said to Bunnymund when he hopped out of his tunnel was, "There is something wrong with Jack." and Bunny's first instinct was to hop right back down his hole. North, seeming to realize this, took a step forward and wrapped his massive arms around Bunny's torso, lifting him up into the air, shouting, "No, you will listen to me!"

"Yeah, I don't really want anything to do with Frostbite if he's giving you trouble, mate." Bunny argued back. He liked the kid- really, he did- but he had warned North that by giving Jack Frost lodging he was inviting mischief into his home. "What'd he do now? Freeze the yetis' feet to the ground again?" Squirming in North's arms, the larger Guardian finally set Bunnymund down, chuckling.

"No, my friend. They still have not forgiven him for that!" After a short laugh, North sobered up again and gave Bunny a serious look, the Pookah taken aback by the air seriousness that North emanated. "Jack is having trouble sleeping. He says that my remedies of cookies and milk are helping him sleep, but I see him in the morning and he does not look rested. He sits on his window sill and does not even go out long enough to create a snow day!"

Tilting his head to the side, Bunny looked over North's shoulder to see the open window, the area around it dusted lightly with Jack's telltale frost designs. "You mean he hasn't been out causing trouble?" Bunny asked and North shook his head and shrugged. Tapping one paw lightly on the ground in thought, he said thoughtfully, "I was wondering why my warren has been so warm in February."

North nodded this time, "You see what I am saying, then?"

Bunny ran a paw through his fur, "You aren't sure they're just dreams keeping him up? Why don't you ask Sandy what's wrong?"

"I have already looked into that matter, my friend. They are not nightmares that haunt Jack, at least not that Sandy can see. He was here just last night and didn't see anything to fix!"

Bunnymund was quiet for a few moments, stroking his whiskers in thought. "Where's Frostbite now?"

North waved an arm around, motioning at nowhere in particular, "He will take off. I do not know what he does, but he is not gone long enough to be his usual self. Perhaps keeping winter cold enough, but he no longer comes back with stories of the children he played with. It worries me."

Placing a reassuring paw on North's broad shoulder, the Pookah nodded in understanding, "I understand, mate." Bunny wasn't sure what North was so concerned about; but then again, he hadn't seen Jack yet.

**/ / /**

Jack had been sitting on the rooftop of a small town that he couldn't remember the name of, casually knocking icicles off so that they fell within inches of those walking beneath. As he watched the icicles shatter on the sidewalk through half lidded eyes, he couldn't help the shudder that ran through him, hugging his knees tighter with one arm while the other held the staff out protectively in front of him.

He closed his eyes, burying his face in his knees and scrubbing almost violently at this hair to try and get the thoughts and memories out of his head. Recently the heavy sensation of intrusion hadn't been entirely leaving his mind when he woke up, and now he felt as though every time he closed his eyes the arms reached out for him.

Standing up abruptly, Jack jumped into the air and tried to get as high as he could, having the sudden desire for fresh wind against his face. The breeze calmed him somewhat, enough for the gusty day below him to calm slightly and the fat clouds to sprinkle a dusting of snow on the town. Those walking outside looked up in relief and surprise as the soft flecks of white fell around them.

Jack gripped his staff tight with both hands, leaning on it in midair as he watched a teenaged girl and boy walking hand in hand down the sidewalk. With a small grin, he kicked a foot in the air and set a flurry of frost at them, the girl slipping on the newly formed ice and pulling the boy down with her. They looked at each other and began to giggle together, faces red with cold and affection. Jack sighed a sigh strong enough to gust through the town; he couldn't decide if he found comfort in hearing their laughter or annoyed that they were enjoying his pranking.

Regardless, Jack felt like nothing in this town was compelling enough to keep him there and the next thing he knew he was floating on wind with no idea where he was going, closing his eyes in relaxation.

Jack felt free as he let the reliable North Winds carry him along their current, cradling his body in strong arms and rustling his hair and blue hoodie pleasantly. The current rocked him to the side and Jack enjoyed the bright sun on his face. It was a cold sun, a distant star at this time of year that provided more light than heat as it battled the overcast skies and distance.

One by one, Jack allowed his muscles to relax, lying back against his staff and crossing his ankles, feeling safe in this state, one with his weather patterns.

The wind held him closely on an updraft, and Jack allowed it. As the draft dropped back down the wind held him even tighter and Jack shifted, willing the strength to die off. When it didn't, Jack opened his eyes and stifled a shout of alarm. Blackness swirled around him like a whirlpool, the arms reaching out but not touching, just acting as a warning to keep him in place.

_Jack_

Bright blue eyes searched his surroundings; he could have sworn he just heard his name whispered. "Hello?" He called out. When no one answered, Jack struggled a bit more and the blackness followed his movements, "Hey!" He yelled, "Hey, if someone's out there then come out! This isn't funny!" In response, Jack heard what sounded like an echo of a laugh and then it was gone.

He twisted and gripped his staff, swinging it in an arc and cutting through the shadows, listening to their shrieks as they receded. Satisfied, Jack turned to fly out of the snare of shadow but as he went to fly upward he felt the numbing burn of one of the arms wrapped around his ankle. It tugged him down into the fold and Jack felt his heart rate spike up violently as he fell deeper into the vortex and watched as the blackness swarmed in, cutting him off from the outside. "No-" He started, trying to pull away from the arms, "No-!"

Jack shot upright and felt strong arms trying to pull him back down, "Let go of me!" He yelled and swung an arm out, the one that had held his staff before. When he didn't feel the comfortable weight of it he panicked slightly until he felt warmth on his face and soothing voice telling him to calm down.

Finally Jack seemed to open his eyes and be able to see again, and the first thing he saw was a large rabbit face in front of his. Furrowing his brow, Jack immediately sat back and shoved Bunnymund away, hiding his face in what he didn't dare call shame.

Bunny backed up and threw a concerned look over his shoulder to North, the burly Guardian giving him a look that was a mix of _I told you so _and _Help him._

Bunny looked back at Jack, who was still hiding his face in his hands, back heaving as though he had just exerted a lot of effort. Putting a paw back on the frost spirit's back, Bunny asked, "Was it a nightmare?"

Instead of answering, Jack spoke with a wrecked voice, "What am I doing here?" Surprised, Bunnymund asked what he meant so Jack finally looked up, eyes switching focus between North and Bunny. "I was somewhere in… I was somewhere else and I… I fell asleep and then I woke up here. How did I get here?"

Bunny sighed but North spoke for him, "Jack, we found you lying in the entrance to the sleigh track."

"You were laying there shivering. And muttering 'no'." Bunny finished and North nodded, his great beard moving with him.

Jack watched them with wide eyes for a full minute before he took a calming breath. "I think I'm just tired." He said and both other Guardians looked highly dubious so Jack raised his hands placatingly. "Really. I just gotta get a good night's sleep. I'm beat."

"Do you want us to ask Sandy here?" Bunny asked and Jack looked conflicted.

"I'd rather figure it out myself." He admitted, "I'm usually pretty good at it. The dreaming, I mean."

"We know, Jack. We just want you to be okay." North said and took a step back when Jack looked over, irritation clear in his eyes.

"You want me to be 'okay'? Where was that for the past three hundred years?" He snapped. North looked hurt and Bunny frowned while Jack looked surprised at what he had just said. "I'm sorry." He apologized quickly. "I didn't mean-"

"It is _okay_ Jack." North interrupted him, "You are tired and not in the best of moods. We understand." North elbowed Bunny in the ribs and the Pookah rolled his eyes but nodded; to him he saw no excuse for Jack to be so rude to the man housing him, but he'd rather go along with it than listen to North rant on about paternal roles.

The trio was silent and Bunny watched as Jack shifted uncomfortably and tried to cover a yawn. The rabbit's features softened and his ears dropped ever so slightly. Jack really was just a kid to them. The Pookah went over to the bed and with one strong paw he pushed Jack backwards onto the bed. Not expecting the movement, the frost spirit fell heavily onto his back. Bunny meant it to try and get Jack to be in a more comfortable position but froze at the look of panic that raced itself across Jack's face before the younger Guardian got his emotions under control.

Feeling guilty, Bunnymund hopped up into the bed, flinching slightly at the chill emanating from it, and pulled the icy sheets up around Jack. Jack seemed to get the hint and pulled his drifts up to his chin, looking anywhere but Bunnymund. North came up on the other side and tucked the snow in around Jack.

"You're okay, Frostbite. We're here for ya. Remember that if you get scared when you're sleeping, yeah?" Bunny asked and Jack gave him a hesitant nod, wanting nothing more than to burst out of his bed and tell them he was fine, and to go into town and freeze the water lines and start a snowball fight, but his energy seemed to drain away with every stroke of Bunny's paw over his hair and North's soothing humming as he tucked everything in.

Jack had never felt more like a child but couldn't deny enjoying the attention and safety that came with it.

"Do you want Sandy?" North asked again and Jack shook his head.

"I'll be fine." He promised and North frowned but nodded.

Bunnymund scrubbed a paw through Jack's hair before getting off the bed, watching Jack pull the snow up over his head. The two older Guardians stepped out of the room and shut the door quietly behind them.

As soon as the door latched, North turned to look at Bunny and the Pookah shook his head sadly. "There's definitely something up with him. I can't say I've ever heard of an immortal losing sleep over nightmares."

"Do you want to stay here tonight? The guest rooms are made up." North offered instead of a response; Bunny already knew the extent of North's concern.

Contemplating the offer, Bunny's ears twitched as he picked up the sound of Jack shifting in his bed a few feet away behind the closed door and he relented. "I don't wanna leave Frostbite all alone. You'll probably end up smothering him to death." He raised a bushy eyebrow at North.

"We'll help him." North swore and Bunnymund nodded.

"I'm going to call Sandy. Just in case. Tooth, too." The Pookah decided and North agreed. They were going to need some reinforcements if they were going to find a way to help their youngest Guardian.


	3. Ink

**A/N** **Here we are! All I can say going into this chapter is… poor Jack. I'm terrible. Also, I'm going back to school this next week and this is the last chapter I have written. Expect a little longer wait between the chapters, but nothing all you beautiful kids can't handle :) **

**As before thank you for your reviews and kind words! I was going to break this up but they're encouraging length, so this chapter is a little longer, I hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter 3: Ink**

The next morning, Toothiana flitted around nervously outside of Jack's door. Bunnymund and North had called on her sometime last night, but she had been so occupied with a sudden rush of children losing their teeth that she hadn't been able to arrive until that next morning. Sandy had joined them but had entered Jack's room out of curiosity and concern when they heard the youngest Guardian shifting in his bed restlessly. The dream maker hadn't reemerged and it made the other three nervous, though none of them wanted to say anything about it.

"What do you think is wrong?" Tooth said after the others had caught her up on the situation, "And why didn't you call me earlier?" She asked, accusatory, glaring at the men from beneath cotton candy pink eye lashes.

Bunny shrugged his furry shoulders, "We don't know, Tooth. He hasn't been sleeping. North is the one who's been noticin'. And he's the one who said we shouldn't call you two until now."

North looked affronted, "I did not think it was worth pulling you away from your work!" As much as she wished to be annoyed by them, Tooth understood. As she was there now, her fairies had to work the system of tooth retrieving without her. However, her love for Jack, whom she saw as a child desperately in need of mothering, won out and she left the fairies to their own devices. Baby Tooth had given her best effort to come with Toothiana but had been left behind in the end.

Suddenly the door to Jack's door was thrown open, sending a rush of cold air at those standing outside of it. Tooth had to dart upwards to avoid being hit by the heavy wooden door.

Jack looked at them, exhausted, but unsurprised that they were outside. "What?" He asked them. When they didn't answer immediately, Jack groaned and rubbed at his head, "What do you need? Can't a guy have some time alone?" He grit out between clenched teeth, grabbed his staff, and shoved past North, the big man allowing Jack to push him aside. Sandy came out seconds later, a big golden question mark dancing around his head, facial expression pulled into a frown.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the iceberg." Bunnymund grumbled, though lacking its usual bite. Together the four Guardians watched Jack's form disappear around the corner.

**/ / /**

Days dragged along, each of the Guardians giving their best efforts to aid Jack in getting a good night's rest now that they realized that Sandy couldn't dispel whatever dream was keeping him from sleeping. Toothiana hummed lullabies and told stories of children's adventures as Jack drifted off to sleep. Bunny dozed next to Jack, one paw resting possessively and comfortingly on Jack's back, acting as an anchor. North concocted milks, hot chocolates, teas and eggnogs in hope that one would lull the frost spirit to sleep.

The mornings came and went and fewer and fewer of them showed Jack leaving his room to see them. North worried it was because Jack stayed in his room all day, and that it couldn't be healthy for a young boy like him, but Tooth and Sandy had flown around outside to the open window and seen that it was wide open, Jack being nowhere in the room.

It was well into the week before Tooth realized she's spent too much time away from her home. They had been so preoccupied with Jack that Sandy often missed children on his nightly runs and North and Bunny had spent no time thinking up new surprises for the children who await them on their respective special days.

"I say we tie him to the bed and make him tell us what's wrong." Bunny grouched one day as they sat around North's study, the fire blazing, a few hours after Jack had dragged himself through the hallways and retired to his room. Sandy had decided to spend another night sitting around Jack's bed, trying to work out why his own dream sand wasn't working.

"Bunny that is no way to talk about him. He's just a boy." Tooth admonished, wings humming even as she was seating in a chair, mind never completely in one place as she mentally directed her fairies where to go.

"He may be a boy but he's three hundred years old. We don't know how he was when he was… alone." Bunny stumbled on the word, "And we don't know if this has happened before. Maybe he's not coming to us for help because he knows how to deal with it." Even as he said it, the Pookah felt like this wasn't the case at all. The few times that he had managed to corner Jack and attempt to find out what was wrong the frost spirit had looked genuinely scared before bringing his shields up and claiming that he was fine.

Tooth sighed sadly, "He may be three hundred in our years. But Jack's just a child. He'll never grow up, and he's scared." Her feathers ruffled slightly, "I don't think sitting here around the fire is going to help him!"

"I agree with Tooth." North finally spoke up, uncrossing his arms from where he sat in a large, plush red recliner. "But I also agree with Bunny. We must find out if he knows what is happening to him, instead of just thinking he is not okay." Similar to Bunny, North didn't believe a bit in the idea that Jack was okay at all.

"Maybe you should do that, mate. You spend the most time with him." Bunny suggested. As much as Tooth wanted to coddle Jack, she also agreed that it was probably the best way to handle the situation. North nodded; he was going to get to the bottom of this.

**/ / /**

The next morning North paused only to give Jack a cursory warning knock on the door before opening it and stepping into the icy room. He took one step into the room before his foot slipped on an icy patch, almost sending him falling backwards into Bunnymund's arms. The Guardian caught himself on the doorframe, cracking the wood with the force of his grip, and took a look into the room.

Jack was sitting on the edge of his bed, one eyebrow raised high on his forehead as he watched North try to regain his balance. Finally, the younger reached his staff out and caught North's belt, helping to pull him upright.

When the Russian fully righted himself, he sent a reassuring look back at the Guardians- all the other three- who were waiting outside of the doorframe with apprehensive looks. North took a cautious step towards Jack's bed and when he didn't slip again, fully crossed the small distance of the room before he stood next to Jack.

"Jack." He started awkwardly, rubbing a hand across his stomach, "I feel as though you are not telling us everything. And we are worried that you cannot sleep."

Jack snorted and looked away. "I'm okay."

Shaking his head, North sat down on the edge of Jack's bed, wanting to get immediately back up when he felt the snow already soaking through the seat of his pants, but stayed for Jack's benefit. The winter spirit shot a dubious look up at the man, a grin inching along his lips. "What's up?"

In the bright light of early morning silhouetting Jack's head, North had a hard time reading the other's expression, but stared intently at the soft smile on his pale lips. North gave an appraising look at the rest of Jack, the stiff set of his shoulders, the slump of his back, and the idly tapping of toes against the snowy floor. Jack's staff was in easy reaching distance, but that was nothing out of the ordinary.

"You have been getting good sleep? You have been… absent as of late."

Jack took the time to look generally surprised. "Yeah, I guess. You guys have really been helping. I don't know what was up. I must have just… been getting used to not being on my own, you know?" He paused and North considered this. "Anyways, sorry about being gone. I didn't know you guys were waiting for me. I've just been out, doing what I do best." Jack kicked up some snow and the flurry went spinning around the room and out the door, some far off crash assuring the flurry had knocked something over.

North harrumphed, wanting not to be convinced but also wanting to be relieved at how Jack was responding to the questioning. "Okay, then." He said finally and got up, brushing off the wet back of his pants, "Okay. If you say you are all right. I will be back around tonight for cookies? I have been thinking of adding cinnamon to the eggnog." He said thoughtfully.

"No!" Jack responded, too loudly and too quickly. He seemed to realize this and cleared his throat, "No, thanks. I've been okay for a few days. I'm sorry I didn't tell you all earlier. I guess I just… was enjoying the attention?" He tried, looking sheepishly up at North through his lashes.

North was quiet for a second before his face lit up and he pulled Jack into a hug., "Good, then! I will tell the others. Do not be so worrying next time, Jack?" The large man chuckled.

Jack coughed as North crushed him with his strength, "Yeah, big guy. Sorry." When North set him back down, the frost spirit tumbled back to his bed, sitting down heavily, closing a hand over his staff. When North turned around, Jack saw that the other Guardians were watching from the hall and couldn't help but feel a bit miffed, but allowed North to walk out and announce that Jack was doing fine. Bunny's face returned to its usual scowl when he looked at Jack, but was softened considerably. Tooth looked like she could melt in relief and flitted in to press a kiss to Jack's forehead before announcing she had to return to work.

It was Sandy that stayed in place after Bunny and North said their goodbyes and allegedly went to return to work. The golden Guardian stared at Jack, who shot him an annoyed look.

Sandy returned the expression and took a step into the room, images of sand flashing above his head of Jack tossing and turning in bed and waking up in the middle of the night to escape through his window. A large X formed above the Guardian's head and then an arrow pointing at Jack.

Jack brushed the sand away. "Get out, Sandy. I said I was okay." The arrow grew in size and Jack dispersed the golden grains once more. "Sandy." He said with a little more force. This time the sand actually poked him hard in the chest. "_Knock it off!_" Jack shouted and Sandy took a startled movement backwards, sand falling around him. Jack took note of the change in demeanor. "What?' He asked.

Sandy formed two eyes above his head and pointed to them, then to Jack. Jack raised a hand and water dripped from the ceiling to form a round plate of ice, reflective enough to show Jack's image. What was shown back caused Jack to take a shocked step backwards. Irises that were normally a sky blue glared back at him a dark gold. Jack released a soft cry of alarm and closed his eyes, rubbing at them. He blinked a few more times and when he looked again, his eyes were back to normal.

Panicked, Jack swallowed heavily and let the ice fall to the floor, not caring when it shattered to pieces at his feet. He felt a soft hand on his back and Sandy was there. "What was that?" Jack asked, staring out the window to his room where the sun was just starting to raise high enough to diminish the soft golden light from his room. "That wasn't a trick of the light, was it?" He asked and Sandy shook his head, pointing at his eyes again.

"What am I supposed to do?" Jack muttered miserably into his hands.

Sandy looked sad for a moment before straightening up and thumping Jack on the back, an image of North appearing over his head along with a speech bubble.

Jack, unimpressed, rolled his eyes, "I'm not telling North." A question mark popped up above Sandy's head and Jack huffed a breath. "Because. They're wasting their time on me. Tooth's running herself crazy being here. North has other things to do. I know Bunnymund doesn't want to be here. He doesn't even like me on days I don't ruin his Easter egg hunts. It's better for them to think I'm doing all right."

Sandy had the nerve to look so frustrated that sand actually blew out of his ears. He slapped at Jack's arm and the winter spirit watched as images of the other Guardians flashed above his head, each followed by a heart to signify love. Finally, the image of North and the speech bubble appeared again. Jack shook his head. "I am feeling better." He said, but, admittedly, followed it up by a yawn, drawing his knees up and resting his cheek on them, "I don't know what's wrong with me."

Sandy nodded, the speech bubble growing larger and larger until it was bigger than Jack himself. Jack, frustrated, grabbed his staff and slammed the butt of it into the ground, sending a gust of wind crashing through the sand, scattering it. Sandy glared up at Jack, who looked impassively back.

"I'll handle it." He said and Sandy threw his arms up. The dream maker turned around once more in the door to show a heart and Jack blinked slowly, voice coming out low and exhausted, "Please don't tell them." He whispered.

The heart fell apart and Sandy nodded, but left afterwards. Jack swung his staff and sent the door slamming shut. He then fell back into his bed and pulled the drifts above his head, though he had no intention of falling asleep.

**/ / /**

Day turned to night, and Jack, against his will, had fallen into a fitful sleep. In his dream world he found himself sitting in a small boat surrounded by a sea of darkness. Recently the black had been growing larger, and every morning he woke up more and more scared of the next time he fell asleep.

This time Jack didn't even try to fight the shadows when they came up to teasingly push at his boat, choosing to stay in his curled position in the boat, muttering to himself what Bunnymund had told him weeks ago: that there were people who cared for him. That this wasn't real.

Suddenly a shadow arm reached up and latched onto the boat's lip, jerking roughly and tipping the boat overboard. Jack wasn't prepared for the movement- it had been a long while since the shadows had actually reached out to him- and couldn't stop the yell of surprise that left his throat when he was dragged below the rolling waves of inky blackness.

He tried to scream for help though he knew it was useless, and felt the black pouring itself into his mouth and down his throat. Jack brought his hands to his neck and tried to cough the black up, but every inhale and exhale just invited more in.

The blackness dimmed slightly and then grew more concentrated before him, a mocking, toothy smile and a pair of eyes suddenly looking back at him. The eyes glimmered and rippled like water and the shape took on that of a tentacle beast.

"_Jack_."It whispered. "_Jack. Stop resisting, child." _Jack didn't want to listen, but the voice invaded his head and he clapped his hands over his ears. _"We are not so unlike each other, my Jack. You see, you invite the darkness in as well. They only go to those who… are willing." _It said, almost thoughtfully.

Jack blinked and stopped struggling in an attempt to curl in on himself. The ink seemed to stop trying to push its way into his lungs, but Jack felt like he had swallowed tar. "What do you want?" He asked, voice sounding like it was full of cotton and every word hurt to get out.

"_Your cooperation."_

"I don't want to help you."

The thing blinked. "_I've come to realize. Jack, if you would just accept the dark it would be so much easier on you. On all of you. You have already become such a willing host."_

Opening his eyes, Jack frowned. "What?"

Pulsing yellow eyes blinked once more, twice, and then flashed so bright Jack could have sworn he was going to go blind. When he opened them again the black was bathed in gold and an anger pulsed through his veins. A sudden anger not just to lash out at the thing before him, but at everyone; at himself. He realized with a jolt that this is what he felt when he yelled at Sandy earlier when he was awake, and how he felt when he snapped at the other Guardians to leave him alone.

The yellow light left him, and as the anger diminished it was replaced with a bone chilling cold and permeating dread. Jack felt like something had left him.

"_Hmm." _It hummed, pleased.

"What?!" Jack shouted and felt the bubbling of blackness in his chest surge up and he coughed, feeling it spill down his chin.

It tsked, sounding disappointed, but still managed to smile. _"I have so much to teach you."_

Jack growled, having had enough of whatever the creature was. "Who are you?! _What _are you?!"

"_I am an ally. A friend. Jack, I'm part of you, and you know this."_ As it spoke the words, Jack had already summoned his staff and struck it forward towards the thing. It hissed and before Jack had an opportunity to retaliate he felt a burning numbness spread through his chest, gripping his heart and pulling tighter and tighter until black filled up his vision and he couldn't get a breath in but it was squeezing, pulling, _killing_ him-

And Jack was suddenly aware of himself screaming, arching his back off his bed and gripping his sheets with white knuckles. As soon as he realized where he was, Jack shut himself up by biting into his lip, listening to his own panting breaths through his nose as the only sound in his room. He covered his face with his hands and tried to shake off the feeling of terror, removing his hands after a few minutes. What he saw caused his breathing to accelerate again and his hands shook as he examined them: the digits were a dusky gray, nails and ends a dark black. He looked at one of his feet that was sticking out from underneath the snow and saw the same thing staining the white skin of his feet like he had dipped his toes into writing ink.

Throwing his covers off, Jack shoved himself through his hoodie and grabbed his staff, holding onto it and leaning against it like it was his only source of life. Remembering a breathing technique that Bunnymund had taught him a few days ago, Jack took slow, even breaths and counted backwards from one hundred. He got to zero and repeated the exercise twice more before he felt like he could walk without collapsing.

Heart still racing, Jack had no confidence in his ability to ride the howling winds outside his window and hobbled his way out of his room; just looking at his bed made him want to throw up. Quietly he made his way along the hallway, the only noises were his own breathing, the quiet padding of his bare feet, and the click of his staff on the stone as he took careful, cautious steps.

When he came to his windowsill, familiar now that it was coated in ice and frost designs etched into the floor and walls, Jack heaved a sigh of relief, using his staff to unlatch and push open the window, falling against the sill as the cool wind ran against his face.

He didn't notice when he sat back on the ledge and placed his head against the wood that he began to drift off.

**/ / /**

North was woken by the yell of panic that echoed down the hall outside of his bedroom. The Guardian was immediately on alert, shoving his feet into boots and pulling his coat on. He knew that cry and had a good idea where it came from.

Hustling down the hall, North hugged his coat at the breeze that was blowing through the open window, spotting Jack shivering and curled up, eyes clenched shut and breath coming out unevenly. North took a few steps towards him but then leapt forward when Jack jerked slightly and began to tip out the window.

Grabbing the smaller Guardian in his arms, North hefted him back into the Factory and shut the window, cradling Jack like he was a sleeping child. However, Jack twitched and cried out again and North knelt to the ground and shook Jack awake. North was surprised to find tears streaking down Jack's cheeks. Alarmed, North shook Jack almost violently and then resorted to shouting "Jack! I am here, Jack!" and then the boy was awake, simultaneously trying to escape North's hold and grasping the cloth of his coat so tightly it was a wonder the fabric didn't rip.

"Jack." North muttered, "You are not in your dream. You are safe." He said calmly, accent heavier and weighed down with concern.

Jack took a few moments to come back to himself but when he did he looked up at North with wide, defenseless, childish eyes. They were dry for a second but the next brimming with tears. "I'm sorry." He whispered brokenly.

North shook his head, "For what, Jack?"

"For lying. I'm not okay, North."

North nodded; that much was obvious. "Tell me what is wrong."

Jack raised his hands and his breathing quickened. North followed his gaze and saw that the tips of Jack's fingers were a dark gray, almost black at the tips. When he met Jack's eyes he watched at the blue fought for dominance against gold, the yellow stabbing through in a way that looked painful before they returned to their normal color.

"I don't know." Jack said, voice cracking, "I don't know what's wrong… I can't-" He took a steadying breath, "The nightmares. They're not nightmares, North. They… they hurt. And they talk to me. And I wake up and I feel like I can't escape them. Even though I can't see them they're in my head somewhere. I can feel them." He brought a hand to his throat and swallowed hard, eyes growing distant as if he was recalling a memory.

North pulled Jack into a hug, the smaller boy letting out a surprised grunt but wrapping his arms around North's midsection regardless. "We will help you." North promised. "I swear it."

North held Jack for a while and Jack let himself doze off against his better judgment, feeling the safety and protection of strong arms as he fell back into a world of gold eyes and ink.


	4. Bitter

**AN I've been trying to respond to all the reviews when they come in (I'm very flattered! Thank you so much for your support!) and I sometimes miss a response or two (or more..). I'm going to just throw out a large thank you to all those I didn't respond to!**

**I'm going to aim for Saturday/ Sunday updates, but I'll try to post them around when I finish writing them. **

**Warning: Headcanon headcanon headcanon :) enjoy!**

"His dreams are scaring him." North said once the Guardians were all seated around North's impressive conference table found in one of the hundreds of rooms in his workshop. "He came to me last night and he is sorry for lying to us."

"That's all good, but why isn't he here himself right now?" Bunnymund asked, tapping a nervous paw on the table.

North ran his hand along his beard, nodding, "He woke up early this morning from his sleep and asked to be put back in his room. I did so, seeing as I do not believe pressuring him into anything is the best idea for Jack." Bunnymund, if possible, frowned deeper and went back to examining the grains in the wood of the table.

Tooth flitted from where she was seated, "So what do we do? Did he tell you what was wrong?"

North shook his head, clearly as distraught at the loss of answers, "He does not know himself. But it is strange, what is happening to him. He has eyes of gold, sometimes, and his skin is turning the ash color of burnt wood. I do not know what causes it." The Russian turned his eyes on Sandy, but the sandman shook his head and shrugged, indicating that he had no idea either.

A slam brought their attention back to Bunny and the Pookah stood up, "You know what? We're not looking at the obvious here. Who do we know who deals with nightmares and is as gray as dusk? And yellow eyes? You can't possibly say all of you haven't thought about it."

The table was quiet for a full minute before North shook his head, "I do not think Pitch is strong enough. He hasn't even been able-"

"Come on, North! What else could it be? It's gotta be him. Who else could it be?" Voice cracking slightly, Bunny's ears dropped slightly and he looked away from North's eyes. It was then that North, as well as the rest of the table, realized how Bunnymund was really feeling.

"Bunny." Tooth said quietly, resting one hand on Bunny's shoulder, "I know this is hard for you, not knowing what's wrong. And it might be Pitch, but it might not be. Regardless, jumping to conclusions won't help Jack."

Bunny grit his teeth, "Why don't we just sit the little nuisance down and really ask him what he thinks it is, then? We're not getting anywhere sitting around gossiping like loons."

North nodded and raised a hand for one of his Yetis. The beast was over almost within seconds and North spoke quietly to it, asking for it to go fetch Jack. Instead of leaving, the Yeti only looked confused before muttering something incomprehensible to all the rest, but North immediately looked worried. "Jack is no longer in his room?" He asked and the Yeti said something else. North slammed his fist onto the table before addressing the others, "The yetis saw Jack leave early this morning. They did not think to stop him because he has been doing so since his stay has begun."

Tooth's feathers fluffed out in distress, "Should we go find him? He hasn't been in the best health. He could be in trouble!" She darted her head around, looking at all the exits she could fly out of.

"I think we should go find Pitch and find out if he's at the bottom of this!" Bunny argued and Tooth gave him her best glare and pout.

"Why are you worried about that when Jack's out there alone?"

"Like he isn't used to it." Bunnymund shot back and the shocked look the other Guardians gave him startled the Pookah, as if he hadn't realized what he'd just said. "I'm… I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that." He rubbed at his eyes and looked down at the table in shame.

Tooth fluttered out of her chair and came to hover next to Bunny. "We know you didn't mean it, Bunny. We're all tired and worried." She soothed and Bunny looked up at her, giving her a tight smile.

"I have decided." North said and they looked at him, "Tooth and Bunny will go and find Jack. I do not think it is wise for him to be alone right now." Sandy shot a question mark above his head and pointed at himself. North chuckled. "You and I, comrade, will go and find Pitch to ease Bunny's worry."

Bunny's ears perked straight up at that, "What?! North, let me go!"

North shook his head, "I have to be honest, I do not think with your current anger it is best for you to go to Pitch. I believe it is in Jack's best interest for you to go with Tooth. Please." The last plead was what made Bunny's shoulders sag in defeat.

"Fine, mate. I'll go find Frostbite. But I don't be happy about it." Bunny said but there was no bite behind it. Tooth grabbed his arm and tugged him out of the chair, her own wings fluttering so breathtakingly fast in anticipation that they were just blurs of distorted air. Bunny threw one last look back at Sandy and North before thumping his foot on the ground twice, opening up a rabbit hole. "Be careful. Just because he's not as believed in as he used to doesn't mean he isn't a nasty, lying thing." He warned before jumping into the hole, Tooth zipping in after him.

**/ / /**

North and Sandy stood next to the crack- more of a chasm, really- that broke the ground and led down into where Pitch resided. The Boogeyman no longer had the strength to wander the Earth now that few children still found fear in his being. The Guardians left the nightmare spirit alone for the most part, now that he wasn't a danger to anyone but himself.

Sandy looked up at North, as if asking if this was what he really wanted. North nodded back grimly and Sandy shrugged, lifting a palm and pooling sand in it. The sand poured down between his fingers to line the crack and the opening widened until it was large enough for even North's girth to fit through. North peered over the edge and watched the golden dream sand drip through and form stairs down into the darkness.

"I am not so sure this is a good idea, Sandy." North said, though he sounded more amused by the way the golden sand glittered even in the absolute darkness then actually concerned about what lay within. Sandy made a few symbols above his head- a padlock, eyes, a sheep jumping over a fence- that North didn't care to try and interpret. Instead, he put one sturdy boot down to test the step, and found that it held. Unsurprised by this but pleased none the less, North hiked his pants up and began to make his way down, listening to Sandy tapping along behind him and the shivering of the dream sand stairwell falling away behind them.

The sand trailed along before them, gently illuminating their path and it weaved and pooled before a great entrance, or what might have once been grand. The black marble that once formed impressive pillars and a beautifully, if not twisted, archway was now crumbled and cracked. North and Sandy stepped through it and the cavern that might have once been a chamber was now just an expansive, high ceilinged room.

The two Guardians tread lightly, knowing that they were now in the Nightmare King's home.

Sandy called his dream sand, the two no longer needing now that the cavern seemed to be lit by moonlight, though there was no noticeable windows and both Guardians were well aware that it was mid-morning, when Pitch had originally been at his weakest even when he was a powerful entity. They paid it no regard, chalking it up to one of Pitch's trickeries.

They walked slowly into the next room and paused, coming to a stop in the entryway. Both looked in shock upon what they saw, and who sat before them.

Where a throne may have been was now a decrepit old thing, one North couldn't even find Pitch worthy of sitting on. Pitch himself was in a terrible shape, one hand resting in the tangled mane of a decaying nightmare, its side heaving with effort and its face and neck pocketed with gaping holes. The Boogeyman sat hunched over, his being flickering in and out of sight even as North and Sandy stood there watching. He didn't seem to have acknowledged their presence yet.

"Pitch." North called out, voice echoing thinly off the stone walls.

Pitch raised his head, golden eyes ringed with exhaustion and hatred. He sneered at them and made an aborted move like he wanted to stand and then thought better of it. Taking a breath that seemed to shatter his body, Pitch asked in one great sigh, "What?"

Sandy tilted his head, a cloud that had been torn in two floating above his body and staying there. Pitch shot an annoyed look but didn't comment otherwise. He then dragged his tired gaze back to North and repeated his question, though this time with much more poison in his voice.

North took a strong step forward, "Are you responsible for what is happened to Jack Frost?" He asked. straightforward, voice booming around the stone. Pitch let his head fall into his hand, fingers rubbing against his temple as if North's voice gave him a headache.

He managed to look interested though. "Little Jack? Something's wrong with your dear winter spirit?" He managed a grin, but it was small and lacked its usual venom.

Sandy's cloud exploded into dust and a throbbing vein pulsed over his head in irritation. North placed a hand on the other's shoulder in reassurance, "We do not think you capable of much beyond sitting on your stool, of course." He chuckled and Pitch lost all amusement that was present in his face. Small sparks of darkness shot from beneath his palms but did little to worry the Guardians as they died mere inches from Pitch's hands.

"You know not who you speak to." Pitch growled and North raised a dark eyebrow. Sighing, Pitch rolled his wrist, "But please, do tell me what ails the boy."

North and Sandy shared a significant look, both silently asking if Pitch was up to something or if he really had no idea. Sandy shrugged, there was no harm in sharing the situation.

"Jack is having nightmares. They haunt him whenever he sleeps behind closed eyes. They hurt, he says. And he has begun to take on the appearance of shadows."

"The appearance of shadows?" Pitch asked, intrigued.

"Golden eyes and darkening skin," North clarified as Sandy popped up a pair of blinking eyes above his head. "We are wondering if you have anything to do with his condition, seeing as you are the master of nightmares."

Pitch picked at something in the corner of his eye and rolled it between his fingers, examining it as he took his time answering. Finally, Pitch shrugged, running his hands through the mare at his side's hair, the beast shaking its head in discomfort as Pitch's fingers caught in its tangled locks. "I am not responsible. Though I am flattered you find me capable of doing so." He blinked and looked at them, bored.

"We did not think you were." North admitted and Pitch grew sour. "Have a good day, then, Pitch." North turned and Sandy shot up the now commonly present question mark.

Pitch waited for them to almost get through the entryway before he called out, "Wait, you oaf." He released another long suffering sigh. "As much as I wish I was responsible, I am not. I have no idea how to fix whatever is making Jack suffer so. However, there is someone else you can talk to."

A moon appeared above Sandy and Pitch shook his head, "No, you worthless pile of dust." Sandy looked irritated but Pitch paid no mind, "The Man in the Moon will not meddle. You know as well as I that he would have said something to you by now if aiding Jack had gotten as hopeless as you resorting to coming to me."

Neither North nor Sandy disagreed. "So, Boogeyman, what do you propose?"

Pitch grinned, pointed, uneven teeth falling together haphazardly. "Why, it's simple. You need to go speak to our parents."

**/ / /**

Jack sat atop a rooftop, a place he had grown increasingly accustomed to as he lost the will to slip and slide along the streets with the children as he used to. Occasionally he'd kick a flurry up and send children slipping and falling to the ground just to listen to their laughter but he hadn't had the strength to do much more lately.

A sharp, knocking pain sometimes found its way to the forefront of Jack's head, and he would cradle his staff in the crooks of his elbows as he gripped the hair at his temples and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to ride out the sensation until it inevitably retreated to a dull thrumming.

Bright yellow would streak across his vision before it dimmed to a hazy gold before finally clearing again, and Jack spent the majority of his time alone watching the gray color on his feet and hands. He wondered if his face had begun to turn to ash as well, but Jack had avoided looking in a mirror since the night with Sandy.

Wind pushed gently at his cheek and ran through his hair, Jack brushing it away, exhausted. He wasn't sure how much time passed with him staring at the gently falling snow as it dusted the world, but eventually he was snapped out of his state when a quick thumping caught his attention.

Looking over his shoulder, Jack can't say he was surprised to see Toothiana and Bunnymund standing on the roof, looking at him as if he were some long lost child.

"Hey." He said halfheartedly, raising his staff off his shoulder slightly in greeting.

"You planning on coming back to the Pole or were you going to keep hiding?" Bunny asked, arms crossing across his chest.

"I came here because I wanted to be by myself. Is that not okay?" Jack asked, bitter. He didn't always have the best patience on a good day, but recently his nerves had been so frayed that Jack was willing to snap at anybody for anything. Most of the elves had, unfortunately, been on the wrong end of his attitude the past few weeks.

"Jack, we just want you to come home." Tooth said and Jack scoffed.

"To do what? Walk around like a freaking zombie and lay in bed trying not to sleep? Leave me alone. How many times do I have to say it?!" Jack stood up as he shouted, the hand not holding his staff flexing in irritation.

"Stop being like that and just come with us!" Bunny said sternly and Jack's face darkened, eyes shining dangerously. Bunny took a strong step forward and Jack bared his teeth.

Taking a stumbling step backwards in defense, Jack's heel slipped off the edge of the house's gutter. "Leave me alone! That's all I want!" He gripped his head and raised his staff as high as his shaking arm would let him, "Wind!" He called and both Bunny and Tooth braced themselves for the strong North Wind to come sweeping in, inevitably carrying Jack away and putting them back at square one.

However, much to the surprise of all three, no wind was forthcoming. Jack looked up, confusion written across his face. "Wind! Take me home!" He yelled and looked around, gold eyes flashing, when the wind once again refused to blow.

"Looks like even the wind knows there's something wrong, mate. Just come with us." Bunny said, taking an aborted step forward. "We can get you help."

"_Help?_" Jack hissed and Tooth let out a tiny gasp. Black ink left a dark line over Jack's lips from where it dripped out his nose like dark blood, his eyes their dusky gold and the hand that gripped his staff turning a gray ash. "Why help me?" His voice sounded hollow, the noise echoing in his throat. "When have you _ever_ wanted to _help me?!_"

Tooth fluttered forward, one hand extended, "Jack, it's okay-"

"It's not okay!" Jack shrieked, a blast of frost that bit like metal needles blasted around him, "When has it ever been 'okay'? Saying you want to help me? Please. I've only ever helped _you_! When I needed help you all turn your backs!" Jack spit, black running and mixing with slush. "I'm just a convenience."

Bunny and Tooth, shocked, almost missed when Jack swung out at them, ice spouting from his staff like water. Pulling Tooth with him, Bunny twisted to the side to avoid the hit and immediately stood back up and turned when he heard Tooth let out a sound of pain. Eyes darting across her body, he didn't miss how she held one wing carefully behind her.

"What happened?" He asked quietly, quickly, while Jack regained his footing.

"It's alright." She assured him, "No harm." She flexed her wing to show, but the gossamer appendage was cracked ever so slightly in the corner and Bunny growled, one hand on his boomerang. "Bunny, no!" Tooth cried from behind him, "He doesn't know what he's doing!"

"Maybe not, but I'm not going to let him hurt people!" Bunny said, fur bristled as he watched Jack regrip his staff. The winter spirit stared at them, eyes unfocused as if he had just woken up.

"Bunny." He whimpered and coughed, black bubbling up and staining his lips. Bunnymund loosened his grip and looked like he wanted to reach out but Jack just grinned wickedly, "Stupid rabbit." And struck out, catching Bunny on his shoulder and, with a twist of his own arms, Jack sent him to the ground.

"Jack that's enough!" Tooth yelled, feathers fluffing out as she shot forward and tried to grip Jack's staff. Jack growled, shocking Tooth with how animalistic it sounded, and his eyes flashed in anger as he twisted his staff out of her grip and used the butt of the wood to hit her in the stomach.

"Tooth." Jack muttered and Tooth's eyes widened from where she lay on the rooftop, icy chill seeping in through her feather down. The eyes stormed with fury and his face contorted in rage, but beneath that his voice broke with hurt and Tooth's own heart felt like it had been squeezed.

"Jack…" She said but as she lifted a hand to his, Jack suddenly jerked forward, falling to his knees with a groan, eyes flickering as colors battled one other for dominance.

Bunnymund stood behind him, one paw wrapped around his boomerang, the end still quivering with the force of being smacked against Jack's head.

"Bunny!" Tooth screamed, "Why did you do that?!"

"He needed it." Bunny said quietly, replacing his boomerang and leaning down swiftly to catch Jack around the waist when the boy fell forward, cradling him in his arms. "It was either him or us, or worse it could have been one of the people." The Pookah said about the humans walking oblivious below them, though now that Jack lay in his arms, Bunny looked genuinely upset. He reached down with his free paw and wiped away the black that was smeared down Jack's chin.

The pressure on his skin resulted in Jack shifting and fluttering his eyes, the clear, sky blue blinking up owlishly. He had a moment of confusion before he focused on Bunny's face, the Pookah himself searching Jack's for any hint of his previous malice. Instead, Jack's lips shook and he gripped Bunny's fur, "Don't make me go back to sleep." He asked, voice cracking beyond its usual roughness, "Please, don't make me fall asleep."

The plea was so childish, so expected of someone Jack's age, that Bunny forgot for a moment that he held in his arms a being who had existed for more than three hundred years. "Okay, kid. You don't have to go to sleep. But we're going to get you back to North's, okay?" Bunny asked, eyes not leaving Jack's.

Jack closed his eyes, whether in relief or shame, Bunnymund wasn't sure, and he nodded. Tooth glided forward and held her arms out and Bunny gave Jack one last reassuring squeeze before handing him to Tooth, the fairy hugging Jack to her and Jack turning his face into the familiar feel of her feathers.

Bunny thumped twice on the roof and a hole opened, him jumping in first and listening for Tooth to follow, the usual hum of her wings bouncing off the earth walls, before he closed the hole up and directed them to the North Pole.

**/ / /**

Bunny and Tooth stepped into North's study, Jack still held tight in Tooth's arms. North looked up from where he had been muttering softly to Sandy, gaze immediately snapping to Jack, who lay motionless.

"Is he…?"

"He's awake." Jack answered, voice muffled by Tooth's feathers. North let himself smile slightly, heavy wrinkles that had set in since Jack's nightmares had begun easing minutely. Regardless, the other Guardians noticed it and let their shoulders all relax ever so minimally.

"So did you talk to Pitch?" Bunny asked of North, the Russian merely shrugging his great shoulders. "Shrug meaning no or yes?"

"Shrug meaning yes, but it was not the outcome you would have wished. It is as I thought; Pitch is not strong enough to be of such a hazard to Jack's health." He sat heavily in his chair, "But…"

"But?" Tooth's wings trembled expectantly, and even Jack shifted enough to peek one blue eye out. North made eye contact with the winter spirit, smiling reassuringly.

"But he did give us an idea of who to talk to."

North let what he said sit in silence, and it was Bunny who asked, "The Man in the Moon?" And, as usual, the mere mention of the name caused Jack to perk up slightly.

Shaking his head, North ran a hand through his beard, "He made a good point, actually. Bunny! When was the last time we paid a visit to Mamyula and Batya?"

Bunny looked taken aback. "Mom and Dad?"

North nodded and Jack squirmed until Tooth let him down. Jack leaned heavily on his staff, chest heaving, when he asked, "Who's mom and dad?"

"we're really going to go see them?" Tooth giggled and North nodded. The other Guardians hummed in agreement and Tooth smiled down at Jack, who was looking at them with wide, curious eyes. "Jack." She said, "We're going to go see Mother Nature and Father Time."


	5. Beholder

**A/N Sorry this is late- Finals are this week and college in stupid and I just saw RotG for the 4th time because I have no self-control and my friends enable my sick habits. This is half filler and half explanation because I feel like you all deserve at least a little explanation before the pain. (alternate title for this chapter is VOMITING HEADCANONS)**

**Thank you for your positive feedback- it makes me want to write instead of study and really… I have about as much self-control with that as I do when it comes to going to the movie theater. Ha! (also I'm writing other RotG stories that I'm not sure I'm going to post.. time wasting at its finest!) I'm trying to respond to reviews but if I skip over you on accident I'm so sorry, please accept my gratitude that you're sticking with me! :)**

**Chapter 5: Beholder**

The hall they stepped into was clean and white, pure in a way that things on Earth were not. Jack could only akin it to when he hid away inside of the glaciers and ice sheets of Antarctica, the white walls in the entryway undulating as though following their movements much as the blue ice did. They came out into what looked like a throne room, though instead of walls there were windows with every kind of scenery they could imagine: forests, cities, mountains, even what seemed like the bottom of the ocean. Every few moments the images would ripple and then flicker, changing to something new as things flew out of them and darted into the next shining portal. At the end of the room there was a large, twisting tree that had its roots dug deep into the marble floor and stretched its limbs up to the ceiling. Sitting in thrones seemingly made from the tree itself were two immortals.

Mother Nature was a gentle woman, large and busty, seated beside her husband, Father Time, a wiry and frail looking man. Nature's face was aged softly while Time's was weathered. The Great Guardians sat forever beside each other, Nature's flowing golden hair entangled with Time's ever growing silver beard on their thrones that curled around them like a living entity, branches and arms hugging tightly to Nature's curves and framing Time's gaunt figure.

"Who are they?" Jack whispered, both hands wrapped around his staff, shoulders hunched, as he looked up at the beings with an expression of awe. "Are they Guardians too?"

Tooth smiled dreamily. "In a way. They're Great Guardians, like the Man in the Moon. Mother Nature is the Great Guardian of Creation, while Father Time is the Guardian of Regulation. They are similar to MiM in which they do not have direct involvement. While the Man in the Moon is here for our direction, they are more here for the humans. They evolve them." Tooth said, lovingly, as she gazed up at Nature the way a young girl would to her mother.

Smiling, Nature's rosy cheeks rounded out her plump face. "Hello, my loves." She said, voice smooth like flowing water and light like sun. "It has been a while, hasn't it, dear?" She turned to Time, who shifted his gaze to them and grunted in agreement, the only other part of his body that was moving was the subtle shifting of his fingers as he molded something within their depths.

"Apologies!" North started and Nature looked at him, amused, "For either not visiting or dropping by so unexpected. Whichever is what you are displeased about more." The Russian hiked up his belt, looking pleased. Nature chuckled softly, Time remaining impassive.

"Any of you are always welcome in our halls." Nature assured, green eyes alight with mischief as she looked at the youngest Guardian. "Oh, Jack Frost. I have watched what you do during my Spring. It is my season of birth and yet you blanket the world in white." Nature said to Jack, who jumped slightly and had the guilt to look ashamed, but Nature merely smiled wider, "I am not meaning this negatively, Jack. It takes strong will to do such a thing. And if I slack off a bit your snow gives me some extra time to create." She winked and Jack looked intrigued.

"Create?"

"Aye. She is the Guardian of Creation, remember?" Bunny snorted and Nature rolled her eyes, though in good humor.

At Nature's prompting, Time finally handed the thing he had been twisting about in his long fingers over, the white of whatever it was a stark contrast to his dark robes. Nature held it in her palm for the group to see: a small paper bird rested in the cup of her hand. Smiling, Nature pressed her other hand over it, enclosing it around the bit of art and when she opened her hands again, what remained was no longer inanimate.

A tiny white bird sat, content, in her palm, head shaking slightly and feathers ruffling. The thing stretched its tiny wings, little pinprick claws gripping for purchase. Nature looked down at it, thoughtful, before raising it to her lips. As if being stained with color, her lips shifted and changed to a deep purple and she carefully leaned down to place a kiss on the bird's small brow.

The color bled from Nature's lips, and purple blossomed in the feathers of the bird, coating it with shades and markings. When Nature's lips had returned to their original soft pink, she leaned back from the bird.

The bird chirped and sang, stretching its wings, now a rich purple, once more and taking flight when Nature urged it to the air with an upward motion of her hand. Happy with itself, the bird circled once and then settled itself in the nests of Nature's hair, the thing making tiny, satisfied bird noises.

"I create." Nature said simply, and it was then that Jack noticed the subtle shifts of movement in Nature's hair.

"Your… your hair…" He started, and wasn't sure if he should be alarmed. "It's alive?"

Nature laughed, the sound ringing like music. "Everything in here is alive. Jack, look closer."

The other Guardians watched Jack as the winter spirit turned in a circle, examining the room. He saw, then, that the walls didn't seem like they were reflecting colors and shadows, they actually _were_ moving. The windows that showed scenery rippled like water and even the ceiling fluttered as if made of thousands of petals. Mother Nature's golden hair shifted and Jack watched as birds, butterflies, insects, even a fox moved about, other animals crawling around the tree and disappearing within the bark of the tree and the folds of Nature's locks.

A movement next to Father Time caught his attention and noticed a great horned owl, its feathers silver and feet black, which had been nesting in Time's beard. The large bird tilted its head to look at Jack, and Jack found the intelligence hidden in those eyes disarming.

"Oh." Was all Jack could think to say. He wondered how comfortable it was having all those things crawling about the Great Guardians all day long.

"Enough of all this fiddle faddle." Nature said and Jack raised an eyebrow. "As much as I do enjoy all of your company, a little bird told me you weren't just here for pleasantries." The purple bird nestled by Nature's ear chirped.

The Guardians looked uncomfortable, all shifting awkwardly until they looked at North. Sandy prodded the Russian in the back of the thigh to prompt him forward. Looking frumpled for all of a moment, North cleared his throat.

"I do apologize for not introducing Jack Frost to you properly, Mamyula. But we are in desperate times. You see-"

"I'm having nightmares and they think I'm going crazy!" Jack interrupted, slamming his staff onto the ground. His voice echoed in the cavern and the fluttering above him stilled slightly. The Guardians looked at him, "I'm sick of people talking for me! I'm not sleeping well, that doesn't mean I'm an invalid. I'm done with all of you ignoring me like I don't _exist!"_ This was emphasized with another pound of his staff and cold air swept through the room, the creatures retreating slightly.

"Jack-" Tooth started and Jack looked over. Biting her lip, Tooth pointed to her face and Jack frowned and then grabbed his head as gold shot through his vision.

"It's happening again, isn't it?" He muttered, eyes clenching as the hammering pain almost brought him to his knees.

"Oh, this isn't good." Nature spoke, green eyes wide with trepidation.

"We know, mom." Bunny said, taking two steps over and placing a paw on Jack's shoulder cautiously. Instead of reacting with vehemence, Jack leaned into the touch, trying to hide his face in Bunny's furry chest. Bunny felt the wet soak to his skin as black bubbled at the corners of Jack's mouth and when the winter spirit glanced up, panic lacing his expression, Bunny saw the black lines that dripped from Jack's golden eyes like tears.

"Perhaps-" Nature started but was interrupted.

"There is darkness within the boy." A low, rumbling voice cut through the freezing temperatures of the room, stopping the wind and the movement of the room. The Guardians seemed surprised, as they found themselves unable to move. "There is darkness that is his own."

Father Time spoke very rarely, but when he did it was slowly and done with immense consideration. His words were always worth listening to, so much so that when words tumbled from his cracked lips the whole world stopped to listen.

Even Nature seemed shocked that her husband had spoken, and squeezed his hand in encouragement. "Go on, dear."

Time licked his lips and swallowed, but the words didn't come from his mouth. They came, instead, from the mouth of his great owl, and the Guardians found their muscles under their own control once more. "Come forth." He rolled his wrist as the owl clacked its beak and Jack felt himself pulled from Bunny's embrace and tugged forward by an invisible force. Nobody acknowledged the black smears that stained Bunny's gray fur.

"Jack Frost." Time groaned, from his own mouth.

"That's… that's me." Jack swallowed, squinting to see through the yellow haze of vision.

Time blinked slowly, eyes falling shut for a long while before he opened them once more and the owl flapped its wings, Time's voice spilling from its beak, "Jack Frost. Why do you contain so much within your own heart? We are not meant to keep things inside of ourselves." Time took a deep breath and the owl continued, "We are here for others, never for ourselves. You must care for each of your fellow Guardians and because of that, you must not keep whatever it is that grows like a virus inside of you to yourself."

Jack shook his head, mulling over the information as though he didn't know what to make of it, "But I don't know _what_ I'm keeping inside of me!"

"Then perhaps it is time for you to look inside yourself and discover what is yours alone, rather than outwardly looking as you always have been."

"What does that even mean!?" Jack practically shouted, beyond confusion. He couldn't follow what the Great Guardian- or his owl- was trying to tell him.

"Jack." Nature said, her flowing voice cutting through the ringing in his ears, "You must look inwards, love. That is what Time is saying."

"How am I supposed to do that?" Jack searched both Nature and Time's faces, blue eyes stabbed through with gold and unable to focus on one place for more than a second. Finally, Jack settled on looking at North, trying to find solace and answers.

North took a deep breath and stepped forward, placing a large hand on Jack's small shoulder, feeling the taught muscles shift under the blue hoodie. "You must trust in them, Jack. Listen to what they have to say."

Jack bit his lip and nodded, steadying himself with a large inhale of air through his nose. "Okay. Okay, Father Time, Mother Nature. What do I do?"

Time sat up straighter and Nature tightened her hand on her husband's. She muttered something to him, something in another language that the Guardians couldn't decipher, but the words sounded as if they themselves had been the building blocks to life.

The owl cried out, a screeching noise that resulted in the ceiling fluttering to life once more. "You must sleep, Jack."

The winter guardian gripped his staff, "No. No, if you think-"

"Mamyula." North interrupted Jack, hand coming to squeeze Jack's shoulder again. The youngest Guardian subconsciously leaned into it, "The sleeping is what we have been trying to fix."

Nature gave him a patient smile, "It'll be okay, dear. Jack, it'll be okay." She said to both of them and time raised his hand.

"It is time for you to sleep, Jack." Time spoke, the words sounding like they were being pulled from his throat. Jack didn't have a chance to argue back before he fell to his knees, hands at his throat as he started to gag.

"Jack!" Tooth called and flew to Jack's side, placing both hands on his back.

Bunny jumped forward, "What's happening?!"

Nature looked like she wanted to leave her throne, and her sudden movement displaced the creatures living about her. Time was the only one who stayed still, hand raised, palm towards Jack, as he furrowed his brow in concentration.

"Dad!" Bunny yelled at the same time North called 'Batya!' "What's going on?!"

North settled back when Time clasped her hand again, his other still raised. The owl on his shoulder extended its wings and screeched again and as if in response, Jack's back tightened and he dry heaved, a racking cough following up after it.

Jack looked up blindly, eyes a shining gold, for a split second before he braced himself on his palms on the ground and threw up black ink, the thick substance coating his chin and staining the ground beneath him. Eyes clenched shut, Jack tried to breathe in around the liquid but more bubbled up and he spat it onto the ground.

Tooth's nails dug into his skin through his hoodie as she held him from falling over, "Jack." She said urgently, "What's wrong? What's happening?"

"Leave him." Time said solemnly as black dripped from Jack's nose and eyes, a stark contrast against skin turning an ashen gray. "He will _sleep_."

Jack was up on his knees again and Tooth jerked her hands back as his back arched and he snapped his head back, eyes staring straight up into the pulsating ceiling. As sudden as the movement was, Jack went limp and fell to the floor. Tooth caught him deftly and lowered him to the ground.

"What's going on with him?" Bunny asked as Sandy laid sand behind Jack's head as a makeshift pillow.

"He is asleep." Time said and Nature patted his arm gently.

"Jack is not just asleep. He is within himself. Jack has a darkness within him." Nature said, looking down at the sleeping Guardian. "Jack was alone for several hundred years, you all are aware. That is a long time to harbor his own hatred and malice. That darkness has resided inside of him for so many years, unable to do anything but grow with his loneliness. Now that he is… less alone, he no longer needs to draw comfort from his darkness. The darkness is unfortunately not as willing to let Jack go."

The Guardians were absolutely speechless so Nature continued, "You all have it inside of you. But you no longer have any use of it, and it was never strong enough to begin with. It has vanished. Jack's is strong, and he must confront this himself if he wishes to overcome it. It will not be easy. You saw yourselves how the darkness reacted to Time's own strength."

"And you let him… let him go _into _himself and confront this on his own? He doesn't know what _this_ is! How is he supposed to do this by himself?" Bunny asked, infuriated, pointing his boomerang at the Great Guardians.

"Bunny. You will put your weapon down." North said sternly and Bunny, though hesitantly, did so.

The owl shook its feathers out, speaking once again for Time, "If he cannot overcome this himself then all is lost. I did not say he cannot have help, though."

Tooth spoke up then, from her position on the floor next to Sandy, "Then how do we help him?"

"You must sleep." Time said and then said no more.

"Then we will sleep!" North yelled at the other Guardians looked at him like he was insane. "If Jack needs our help then we will help. We have not helped him enough, it seems. It is time!"

Sandy nodded, his fist slamming into his palm and his dream sand recreating the gesture above his head. Bunny stood up as well, lending a paw to help Tooth to her feet. "Us too, mate."

"If that's how we're going to help Jack then we're in!" Tooth said enthusiastically and Nature's smile broadened.

"If you are all sure?" She asked and they all nodded, "Then I wish you best of luck. But please, do take care not to damage anything while you're in there, it is very fragile." As she spoke grass sprouted up underneath Jack, cushioning his body against the hard floor. Jack didn't respond to the change below him, and continued to breathe softly around his sleep.

Time raised his hand, palm towards them all, and the room seemed to slow down and spin. Quietly, one by one they fell to their knees, North's booming snores already echoing off the walls. Branches and rolling hills popped up to catch them and lay them gently down next to each other. However, Sandy merely turned to look at the Great Guardians.

"Don't feel like sleeping, Sanderson?" Nature asked and Sandy shook his head, a bed popping up above his head and being torn in two, followed by a quick succession of children sleeping and then the world rotating around a tiny moon. Nature chuckled, "Yes, yes dear. But your dreams are doing the job for you now, are they not? While you are here you are free from duties."

Sandy popped up another bed and let it fall apart and Time squeezed her hand. Nature understood, "You are much like my husband, Sandy." And Sandy was, in a way, this was true. Many of the Guardians related to one parent over the other, with MiM being the parent of them all. Bunny and Tooth spent much of their time speaking with Mother, and North and Sandy spent conversations in Time's company. Sandy looked at his Father and smiled, giving a small wave.

"Watch over them, Sanderson." The owl on Time's shoulder requested and Sandy nodded. He settled himself near Jack and placed his hands on the winter spirit's temples. Dream sand floated lazily around Jack's head, the golden sheen coating Jack's eyes and hairline. Slowly Sandy closed his eyes and allowed himself to sync with Jack's subconscious.

With the Guardians asleep, Nature turned to her husband and leaned over, kissing him on the cheek. "This may be too much for them. I wonder if we should have given our aid."

Time looked at his wife and shook his head, licking his lips. "No, my dear. Without this Jack will never understand that he no longer needs his darkness to survive. He must rely on the help of his fellow Guardians."

Nature hummed, flowers opening their petals to the sound of her voice, "On the love of his family, you mean."

Time's smile was small, just a tiny crack in his great wrinkled face, but with it came the birth of new life.

**/ / /**

Deep in his mind, Jack found himself backed against a dark sheet of black ice. Before him stood a figure that looked eerily like himself, with eyes that shone like a cat's in the minimal light that entered into the cavern he was in.

"Hello." It whispered and Jack gave a sharp intake of breath.

"I know what you are." He said back and the thing tilted its head, black staff leaned casually against his shoulder.

"Then what am I, Jack?"

Blinking, Jack gripped his staff and swung it forward defensively, "You're what's doing this to me. A nightmare."

It laughed and took a step forward, reaching a hand out. Jack swung the staff and almost lost his balance when instead of meeting resistance the wood flew through the thing's arm like an oar through water. It looked down at its arm with distaste before swinging its own staff and catching Jack on the side of his face. Jack hit the ground hard, one hand against the hot throb of his cheek as warmth filled his mouth. Spitting red blood on the ground, Jack only had a moment to marvel at the crimson color before the thing had a foot on his chest and was pushing down with a sternum cracking pressure.

"I am not responsible for your weakness, you pathetic waste of ice." It hissed, stepping down, the derogatory comment reminding Jack so vividly of Pitch in that moment Jack couldn't tell the two apart in his mind. Jack saw the split in its gray face, the teeth within black and rotting. "I am what you could be. I am what you _should_ be. I am what _will_ be."

Jack struggled to rise up on his elbows, but the thing was in his face and spitting venom. Jack looked up at the golden eyes and felt fear spike through his torso. He wasn't afraid, he _wasn't_-

The thing spoke into Jack's ear, lips centimeters from Jack's skin, and Jack felt a cold permeate his heart, a cold that he hadn't felt since falling for a lifetime in a frozen pond.

"_When I am finished, I am all that will be left."_


	6. Amethyst and Emerald

**A/N Happy Holidays and New Year! Sorry for the holiday hiatus on this; I haven't been able to get any internet to post it. So, thank you guys for sticking with it and I apologize again for the delay. There're a lot of decisions I have to make for the last few chapters but after this I'll be returning to my weekend updates. Here's your RotG gift from me! :)**

**Chapter 6; Amethyst and Emerald**

The archways that greeted the Guardians were impressive, their images reflected back at them in blues and silvers and purples that shimmered across the sheets of ice that enclosed them in the pathway they walked along.

"Where is this?" Bunny asked, feeling Toothiana's wings beat a little quicker next to him to keep up with the pace as she looked into the mirrored ice.

"Jack's dream, I'm assuming? Or something like that? That's where Dad said we had to go to help Jack, didn't he?" Tooth said, though she sounded like she was trying to put on a brave front when she was as confused and nervous about the endeavor as the other two. Before them stretched a maze of ice walls, and at the center, almost like a beacon, stood a towering block of ice. It seemed impossibly far away, the base of it a dark color and the gradient at the top flowing to a sparkling white that beaconed like a light house.

"I'm assuming that's where we're trying to get to." Bunny muttered and gripped his boomerang. North nodded and Tooth darted closer.

"Then what are we waiting for?" She said and her hands clenched into fists, "Let's go kick the butt of whatever's doing this to Jack."

"That is what I am being curious about." North interrupted, but stepped down into the labyrinth regardless, "If what is happened to Jack is something we can save him from."

Tooth and Bunny both exchanged looks before following after the Russian, already beginning to navigate their way through the tunnels.

**/ / /**

They had been walking for what seemed like hours but there was no movement of the sun in the sky of wherever they were. It still hung low, barely breaking over the walls and casting a dusky light that created rainbow prisms in the ice sheets.

"Do you think we're going in the right direction?" Tooth asked as she flitted along, looking at the designs that swirled within the ice.

"Where else would we go?" Bunny asked. The frost of the ground was making his feet numb, and he stepped quickly as North trudged along ahead of them. "Can't you fly up and see where we are?" He asked.

Toothiana shrugged before shooting up into the sky to the top of the towering walls. However, where she should have been reaching the top, Tooth kept getting smaller and the walls continued to surpass her. Finally, after a few minutes, she returned and looked concerned.

"It looked like I should have been reaching the top but the walls just kept… going." She said, breathless from the exertion.

North made a gruff noise of agreement before he glanced back, "It does not appear we are in any place in real time. We are in Jack's home now, it seems to be as tricky as he." The man chuckled but was cut short when he was hit in the face with a snowball, followed by laughter that seemed too familiar.

"Frostbite!" Bunny shouted as a shadow darted away around a corner, the tail end of a staff following after it. The Guardians quickly took off after it and stopped when they turned the corner. Before them stood a kind of snow fortress that children would make during a snow fight. It was impressively large.

"Who goes there?" A voice called from behind the wall. Jack's voice.

"Jack! It is us. We are here to help you!"

"Help me with what?" Jack called, "A snowball fight?"

A rumbling caught their attention from above and an avalanche of snow and ice came careening off the glacial walls toward them. The Guardians shouted in alarm and moved to cover their heads but the ice and snow dissipated into thin air and instead each got a snowball to the face.

Bunny wiped the white off his face and twitched his ears in irritation. "What's the big idea, you little bugger?!"

A rectangular opening appeared in the wall and Jack appeared there in silhouette. "Like usual, you're no fun." He sniffed as he walked forward, one eyebrow raised. The Guardians all took immediate notice of two things: one that Jack's staff looked different; it wasn't its usual shepherd's shape. The top of the staff cut at hard right angles. The second was that Jack's eyes weren't blue, they were a dazzling purple that sparkled like gems against the light of the cavern.

"Jack." Tooth fluttered forward, snow still clinging to her eyelashes, "What happened to your eyes?"

The Jack that stood before them wrinkled his brow, "What are you talking about?" He sneered.

"I do not think this is our Jack." North muttered from where he stood back, observing.

Bunny gave his friend a side glance, "What do you mean?"

Shrugging, North nodded, "Not just how he looks. His entire demeanor is different. It is as if he does not know we are his friends." North took a step forward and raised his voice, "Tell us where Jack is."

Both Tooth and the Jack turned their attention to the Russian. Finally, Jack cocked one side of his mouth up in a disbelieving grin, "I am Jack."

"Not our Jack." Bunny corrected and Jack sent him an annoyed look.

"Why do you care, Hopper?"

Bunny's mouth twitched to say something insulting but North but a hand on his chest, "We wish only to know for our own curiosity. It will hold no consequence to you."

Not Jack hopped up on his staff and sat there, hovering, as a slight breeze blew through the canyon. Seemingly mulling it over, Jack pulled some snow from the air and rolled it into a ball, "I'll tell you if you win a snowball fight with me."

"That's not even a fair game." Bunny griped and Not Jack sent him a significant look.

"Fine. If you want to be that way. Whatever. Just go." Not Jack drifted out of the way, leaving the opening to the snow fortress open.

Bunnymund hopped up to Tooth and put a paw on her arm. North muttered 'I do not think this is a good idea' but Bunny merely went forward to the opening. He let out a yelp as the entryway collapsed, trapping him in the snow, back legs kicking and scrabbling at the snow.

"Bunny!" Tooth shouted and flew forward, scooping her hands through the snow to try and dig the Pookah out. Not Jack was howling with laughter and North reached up to pull him off his staff.

"Hey, let go!" Not Jack shouted, trying to get out of North's grip.

"You will let us through." North said and Not Jack pouted and jerked himself out of North's grip before he hurled a snowball at North's face but the Russian lifted an arm up to block it. When he lowered it again, Not Jack had the look of a child chastised. Behind them, they heard Bunny gasping for breath as Tooth finally dragged him out of the snowdrift.

"You wanna know where you're supposed to go? Fine." Not Jack tilted his head and grinned. It was a grin similar to those that Jack often flashed them when he felt especially mischievous but this smile held no hint of play in it, only the desire to trick.

"I have no vendetta against you people." Not Jack shrugged, his bright purple eyes reflecting the sunlight like amethysts. His eyes winked and he gave them an almost Cheshire smile, teeth bright against dusky skin. "Why would I lie to you?"

"You're not our Jack!" Tooth accused and Not Jack tilted his head and furrowed his brow before snorting.

"Wow, nothing gets by you, does it Sparkles?" He laughed and Tooth's feathers fluffed out in annoyance.

"Don't be rude." She warned and Not Jack sat cross legged on his staff, looking down at them with a skeptical expression.

"I'm sorry, but you are the ones who seem to be intent on trampling through my head, doesn't that make you guys a little rude?" He asked.

North stepped forward, double blades now sheathed, "Whoever you are-"

"I'm Jack." Not Jack said dangerously and North continued a little more cautiously.

"Okay, then, Jack." The kid seemed bipolar at best, almost as if he himself was breaking apart and unsure of who he was. "Please. We can help, but you must let us through."

"Help how?" Not Jack stood up on his staff and cross his arms, hunching his shoulders, "You don't know what you're doing in here. This isn't a place for other people!" His voice cracked and his eyes flickered to the gold that the Guardians had become so familiar with. Not Jack coughed and grabbed at his throat, looking up in a slight panic.

"You're falling apart, mate." Bunny said softly, looking up at the boy.

Not Jack took a few heaving breaths and cleared his throat, "What does that mean?"

Tooth flitted up to him, "We don't know yet either. Just that there's something wrong and we're going to fix it. But you have to let us."

Not Jack looked at her, his bright purple contrasting with her own rosy pink. "You don't know what you're getting yourselves into."

"We don't care." Bunny said and Not Jack looked at him before pushing away from Tooth and rolling his eyes.

"If you guys are so excited about this than whatever." He kicked at the air and another opening in the snow wall opened up. "Don't expect any help from me."

"We don't want any!" Bunny snapped back and Tooth whapped him in the back of the head before zipping through the opening. The Pookah followed after and North went last. As he passed through, He looked up at the other Jack, who was sitting broodily on his staff, one hand at his throat.

"We will fix this." The Russian promised and Not Jack grunted. As he stepped through the entryway, he felt a snowbell smack the back of his head and he looked back. He couldn't catch sight of Not Jack but heard the boy laughing.

**/ / /**

"What do you think he meant by we didn't know what we were getting into?" Bunny asked. They'd not talked until the snow fortress was well behind them.

"Not sure." North said. "I have never been inside someone's head before, Bunny." He said pointedly and the Pookah rolled his eyes.

"Hey, the tower's getting a lot closer." Tooth pointed out and they looked up. The tower was at a distance that shouldn't have been as close as the walk they'd put in.

Rubbing his arms, Bunnymund shivered against the cold, "There's something weird about this place. The walls never end, and that bloody tower decides when it wants to be closer or farther. And this place. It's coming apart." Her ran his hand along the ice and jumped back in alarm when the wall splintered. Black goo oozed from the fracture in the ice and Bunny stared at it.

North merely sighed and Tooth bit her lip, saying, "We aren't in our usual places in the world, perhaps here it doesn't go by normal rules."

Leaving the wound in the wall alone, Bunny shook his head. "I live in a Warren below Australia! You live in a floating palace! How is that any more unusual?"

"Because those places are not in Jack's head." North answered quietly.

**/ / /**

They heard the quiet sobbing before they turned the corner and saw the huddled figure on the ground. His shock of white hair identified who he was, though it was no surprise to the Guardians. They were hesitant walking continuing forward.

"Is this our Jack?" Bunny whispered and at the sound of his voice the Jack on the ground looked up, his bright green eyes watery and scared.

"Who- How are you here?" He whimpered, lower lip quivering. Tooth made a noise of discomfort and reached a hand forward, though Bunny caught her.

"Don't forget what the last one did. This could be a trick." Bunny said but Tooth shook him off. She flitted down to where he sat on the ground and this Other Jack looked up at her, scared and mistrustful.

Tooth cooed quietly and kneeled on the ice. Her feathers flared out beside her and she examined the shaking boy on the ground, where his arms were wrapped around his knees. Whereas the last Jack had seemed full of life, this one's eyes were dulled as if he'd seen terrible things, his cheekbones standing out in stark lines on his gaunt face. The bones in his thin wrists were sharp and pronounced where they pressed against dirty leggings.

"Jack." Tooth said and Other Jack looked up. "Is something wrong?"

Other Jack sniffed and ran a hand across his face, "I didn't think you'd come."

"Why would we not come, Jack?" North asked, stepping forward slowly and Other Jack looked up at him, eyes wide and childish.

"Nobody ever comes. Nobody came for three hundred years." He said, haunted, and the words were like daggers to the Guardians. They all averted their gaze.

"We're sorry we didn't come earlier." Tooth said, placing a hand on Jack's arm. She pulled it back with a gasp when beneath where she'd touched it wavered and rippled like water.

"It scares me." Jack said, as if he didn't hear her. He was looking somewhere beyond where they were. "I'm so cold."

"Jack?" Bunnymund said, alarmed.

"I'm always cold. I'm cold. I'm cold." His jaw clenched and tears streamed down his cheeks. They were crystalline at first, but black seeped out after them and painted his white face. "All I ever wanted was one of you to come, to say hello back. I didn't mean to do all the things I did. I promise. I'm so cold."

"Do something." Bunny said, not wanting to think about what the kid was saying. Tooth leaned forward, pulling the Other Jack into a hug. As she pressed him to her chest, he seemed to collapse in on himself and dissolved into water, clothing and all, the last that they could see were the eyes that glimmered like polished emerald. The black that had streaked down his chin swirled lazily in the puddle of water before it disappeared into the water.

Tooth let out a startled cry and she shot back, "I-I didn't mean to do it!"

North placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed reassuringly, "I do not think it was anything you did wrong, Tooth." The Russian was looking around him and Bunny's ears twitched.

"We gotta keep moving. Do you hear that?" He asked. The Pookah could hear whispers echoing in the ice around him, silhouettes in the ice forming and vanishing as soon as he looked over. North nodded his head. The ice itself seemed to be watching them and the tower loomed over them.

Tooth picked herself up and discreetly wiped at her eyes. "North, I don't understand-"

"Is like matryoshka." North interrupted, as if he had just had an epiphany, as they looked at the quivering puddle that had been Jack just a moment ago, though a frightened and shivering thing it had been.

"Like what, mate?" Bunny had to tear his eyes away from the walls.

"Matryoshka." North repeated, "Nesting doll." The other two Guardians nodded. They had both seen North's doll, and the Russian had had ones made for them as well. Clearly, the metaphor had been much more significant than any of them had realized.

"So, what, we're just floating through Jack's… layers?" Bunny asked, skeptical. "How many do you think the bloke has?"

"Well," Tooth said, still looking at the puddle on the ground with a degree of sadness, "We've run into our trickster, as well as our child. His loneliness." She said sadly as she tapped her chin in thought, "How many more could there be?"

North harrumphed from behind his beard, "I do believe this is what we are to understand as not fully understanding Jack. We do not know how many more before we get to his center."

Snorting, Bunnymund hopped around the puddle and looked down the labyrinth of glacier, "And what's at his center? I can guarantee it ain't chocolate."

"He is at his center. Along with whatever it is that burdens him so." North said, knowing this was the truth, "We must get to his center if we wish to bring him back to the outside."

A cold wind blew its way through the icy walls, biting the Guardian's with its intensity. They were silent as they watched the sky change from day to night and then to day again in a matter of minutes, as if Jack's mind couldn't quite figure out what to do with itself.

"I wonder how much time we have," Bunny said and they all jumped as a loud crack reverberated through the crevasse, behind them where they had come from a large block of ice splintered itself from the rest of the wall and crashed down to block the path. Black oozed from cracks in the ice to their left, the same goop they had seen after dealing with the first Jack.

As the puddle where the last Jack had melted began to bubble and boil as if being heated, Bunny decided it was time to move on, not wanting to acknowledge the guilt that stabbed its way through his belly. This Jack hadn't even seemed fully aware that he was there and whether his voice was hoarse from disuse or constant speech was unsure, but the things he said we spoken rhythmically, like they had been spoken many times before.

Shivering, Bunny stopped thinking about it, knowing it would do no good to dwell on it now. "Well come on, then. We aren't getting any closer by just standing around."

North and Tooth both nodded in agreement and, with one last look at where the broken hearted Jack had sat, they continued to navigate their way toward the tall glacial peak at the center of the labyrinth.

**/ / /**

There was a dripping noise, the sound echoing as it went unchecked. Jack shivered, trying to stretch but found his arms immobile. His eyelids refused to open, as if they were sealed shut. Somewhere in the back of his mind, his conscious was fighting to surface; something was screaming at him that it was important that he wake up. But he couldn't find the strength.

A shadow encroached his thoughts; he felt it like a living entity in the back of his mind. Groaning, Jack tried to create a fist, to kick his legs, to move his neck.

"It's cute watching you try." A voice said, almost like it was speaking directly inside of him. Jack groaned. "Come on." It said, "Wake up."

As if that was giving him permission, Jack's eyes opened slowly, the world before them hazy and gray. He couldn't seem to focus.

"Of course you can't. With how hard I hit your stupid face I would be offended if you _could_ see." It sneered and Jack was suddenly aware of a tacky substance sticking to the side of his face and coating one of his eyelids.

"Who are you?" He whispered hoarsely, his neck feeling like someone had been choking him with a coarse rope.

A laugh. "We have to go through this again? Maybe I hit you a little too hard."

Jack's eyes opened fully and he found himself looking into his mirror image, gold eyes bright with malicious anticipation, insanity brewing behind the irises like a storm. "Good morning." It smiled.

"Jack." Jack muttered and let his head hang.

"The one and only!" It cackled. "You know, I was worried that I would only have you to play with and then I'd have to go out and deal with the Guardians." Jack forced his head back up, following his doppelgänger with a degree of difficulty. "But I've heard from _excellent_ sources that the Guardians found their way in here."

Shocked and confused, Jack gasped out, "What... what do you mean?"

"The Guardians found their way inside our head. Now isn't that just impolite? Terrible manners. I think we'll have to teach them a lesson. Should I wait for them here or send something out to deal with them?"

As he spoke, Jack watched in horror as black ice dragged itself from the cavern walls and shattered on the ground. It pulled itself back together and in front of Jack stood several canine figures, growling and snarling, snapping at each other. The dark thing before him snapped his fingers and they heeled.

"No." Jack said and tried to move forward. It was then that he realized what exactly he was caught in. He was pinned to one of the walls, black ice encasing his limbs. The ice seemed to hiss as it pulled closer around him and Jack felt like he was going to be sick. "No!" He cried, stronger.

The thing gave him an unimpressed look. "I don't think you really have much of a say in this." He waved his hand and the wolves dove back into the walls with a noise like breaking glass, and Jack watched as their silhouettes raced along the walls before vanishing out the entry way of whatever cavern they were in.

"You'll regret this." Jack growled and the being before him laughed, the sound giving Jack a splitting headache.

"I will? Really?" It took a step forward and gripped Jack beneath the chin. Quickly, it snapped Jack's head back against the ice. "Unfortunately, I think you have more to worry about than what your friends are doing."


	7. Rose and Pewter

**A/N I would like to express my apologies for having not updated in a month. I shouldn't give an excuse aside from the fact that I've been caught up in school and my job as a student athlete at my university. I am embarrassed to admit that for a long while I had lost inspiration to write this story, and for that I'm deeply sorry. I can promise you this story will not go on a hiatus or any kind of extended period of incompletion because I have full intent to finish it, I've just found it hard to write recently.**

**That being said, I hope you enjoy this and please leave a review telling me what you think! I haven't responded to everyone, but some of the reviews I've received have both encouraged me to continue as well as point out missing plot points that I either already had intention on filling or ones that I had overlooked. For that I thank all of you!**

**Here's some actual plot progression (what? unheard of.) and I already have most of the next chapter written out, and we'll see a lot more of our usual Jack in the upcoming chapters. **

**Chapter 7; Rose and Pewter**

**Or, Contagion.**

The giggling threw them off, at first. It was a lilting laugh, not the impish one of the Not Jack that they had met earlier. It bounced off the walls of the glacier, escalating into a full-fledged shriek of glee before it dropped back down to a soft titter.

"Jack?" Tooth called, her own voice mixing musically with the laughter. The sound of it caused her to want to smile and join in, but the sheen of the glacial walls reminded her of where she was. They had noticed as they continued to walk that deep within the whites and blues were frightening deep veins of darkness that pulsed through the ice as though they were alive and pumping life to something deep within the maze.

It had sobered them from the previous curiosity immensely, and they weren't sure if it was worse that the thick veins were too deep to examine or to have the toxin seeping through cracks in the ice like a parasitic sludge spilling out of an infected wound.

The laughter cut off abruptly and they worried for what that could mean but the silence was soon cut through with a "_hellloooo!"_ and Tooth tilted her head in confusion and looked back at Bunny and North. Both of them shrugged noncommittally, not wanting to think the worse but constantly being prepared for it.

"Hello." Tooth called out sweetly and as they turned the corner, were shocked midstep at what they found.

The ice that stood before them was sculpted. Not like the fort that they had been confronted with at the beginning, but like a work of art. The ice that surrounded them was akin in skill and beauty to the toys that North meticulously crafted in his workshop.

There were spirals and snowflakes suspended in the air, swirls and frost designs adorning them. The ground was adorned with designs and patterns and the walls had elaborate drawings etched into them. Tooth had to gently push the floating objects aside as she fluttered her way warily through.

"Careful!" The voice called, though it was said in jest and not in warning. When they had pushed the crystal art out of the way they came upon something that surprised them once more. There was indeed a Jack before them, but this Jack was a mere two feet tall, sitting on a bubble made of frost and smiling at them.

His eyes twinkled as pink as tourmaline and when he smiled at them a rosy blush dusted his cheeks.

"Hello." He said, his voice sounding strange coming from such a small frame.

"Hello." Tooth greeted again, fluttered up to be even with the tiny thing. "Who are you?"

"I'm Jackson!" Jack said. It was said shyly and as Jackson spoke it his blush deepened slightly. "You're so pretty." He cooed and reached forward with one small hand to trace Tooth's feathered brow, the fairy having to resist the urge to pull back at the tickling sensation.

"This isn't a Jack I'm familiar with." Bunnymund muttered, the Pookah sounding oddly uncomfortable as he examined the designed floor beneath his paws. He had long stopped feeling the cold of the area, and wondered if that was to do with the surreal plane of existence they were currently in or if he had just grown numb to the chill.

Jackson popped the bubble he had been floating on and grabbed at his staff which had been floating beside him, the end of this branch ending in a closed triangle and pointing out like an arrow. Hanging from it, Jackson dangled his feet in the air and propelled himself over to the Pookah with a swinging motion.

When he got within reaching distance of the Easter Bunny, Jackson reached his foot out and rubbed it along the length of one of Bunny's ears, feeling the soft fur between his toes. Bunnymund was hard pressed to decide if he enjoyed the feeling or if he wanted to shove the little Jack away.

Jackson pulled back without prompting and looked to North, "You're the best." He said simply and North's eyes widened, dark brows rising up in bewilderment. "You are!" Jackson pressed.

"I am the _best_?" North asked, voice gruff.

"You're the best. You guys are all the best. Thanks." He puffed his chest out and grinned at them, eyes sparkling like finely polished gems. Jackson didn't say anymore but he did whistle slightly and poked at the air, small crystals forming where it toes clenched in the air.

The Guardians merely watched but finally a low voice cut the air. "He's _love_." Tooth whispered as though she had found a survivor of a long extinct species. Bunny looked to her and watched as she cupped a hand over her mouth and turned away, shoulders hunching.

"Why am I the best?" North asked, expecting some kind of ridiculous answer. Bunny gave another look to Tooth before turning his attention to 'Jackson'.

The tiny Jack snorted, pulling himself up onto his staff and sitting there, kicking his legs back and forth like an elementary school girl on the swing set, gazing at them with adoration. "You're awesome." He shrugged, "You gave me a bed and a room and you don't care when I push elves down the stairs. That's pretty cool." He grinned, bright and prominent before turning to Bunny.

"You're pretty much my best friend." He said and Bunny's ears dropped to press against his skull, "I know you don't think so. I don't have a lot of friends, except Phil I guess. But you're what a friend is like, right?"

"Mate, I don't think we should be listening to this." Bunny whispered to North, "This isn't something he'd want us knowing. There's gotta be a reason this Jack is so… is so tiny."

North looked over but didn't get a chance to speak before Jackson had thrown a little snowball at Tooth's back. The Fairy turned around and gave a watery smile at him as he spoke. "You're the prettiest. I wish you were my mom. I don't remember much about my own, I guess." He kicked at the air and spun around on his toothpick of a staff.

"He wouldn't want us knowing." Bunny pressed and North nodded, though he couldn't pull his attention away.

"You guys are the best family ever, you know. And I know what families are like, I've seen enough kids with their brothers and sisters and parents to wish for one. You know I-"

"_That's enough_!" Jackson was interrupted by Tooth, and both the other Guardians looked at her in surprise. "That's enough for now, Jackson." She said, softer, and the flush returned to Jackson's face where it had gone white at being yelled at. He grinned again as if she had complimented him and opened his mouth as if to speak so Tooth flitted forward and grabbed his tiny shoulder, turning him to give him a soft kiss on the cheek.

"You are loved, Jack." She whispered, closing her eyes. "You're loved. Don't think you ever haven't been, or ever won't be." Her words were secrets against his hair and Jackson looked down and shuddered before he melted in her hands.

Tooth wanted to reel back, to shake her hands of the bluish white that dripped between her fingers that was once a living thing but she didn't. She held it in the cups of her hands until it slowly dripped onto the ground where it seeped into the ice and glowed a soft white before vanishing completely.

Both Bunny and North were quiet for a moment before the Russian put a heavy hand on Tooth's shoulder, the fairy standing on the ground, wings twitching limply as she looked down at the spot where Jackson had gone.

"It is okay, Tooth."

"He was so small."

"It is okay."

"That was Jack's love, and it was so small. Did we do that, North? Is it our fault he was so small?"

Bunny hopped forward, watching as the designs on the wall grew and expanded, the floating snowflakes spinning in a lazy dance where they had once been motionless, "It isn't something we did. But Tooth, I think we're fixing 'im. We don't have time to dwell on it. You'll be able to make Jackson as big as you want but we gotta get the whole Jack back first."

Tooth sighed heavily before nodding, looking up with a new determination in her eyes. She gripped North's hands in reassurance before she pushed herself off the ground. "You're right, Bunny." She didn't wait for a response before she was flying around the next corner.

North and Bunny shook their heads in fondness at their friend's enthusiasm and went to follow after.

**/ / /**

Sandy sat back on his heels from where he sat over the sleeping Guardians, ever vigilant for any sign of something gone wrong. He felt as though he should be concerned at the absolute stillness from each of them, but wondered if it was merely a result from the deep sleep that Time had sent them into. Jack himself, though, looked deathly pale now that they had wiped away the black that had decorated his chin and face. Sandy yearned to run a hand through his hair in comfort, but balked at the possible consequences of accidently waking the youngest Guardian up.

Before him in the throne chairs, Mother Nature and Father Time idly sat, doing what Sandy assumed they did with most of their time. Their conversation was minimal, the other seeming to know what each wanted merely by body language or a quick glance. Sandy's own heart warmed at the connection.

He watched as they methodically created new life, Time molding the framework within his aged hands and Nature kissing color and soul into it. They had made dozens of butterflies and the things hovered and darted about the room before dashing into the mirrors that decorated the ornate walls when they changed to the desired destination.

Smiling, Sandy too pulled his creativity from his soul and pulled dreamsand into his hands, a flurry of movement sparkling to conception a mess of his own creatures. Beetles crawled up his arms to bury themselves in his hair and stick insects clung to his arms. A single butterfly looped up into the air to flit about the real ones before it gently came to rest on North's forehead.

As soon as it touched, though, the tiny thing let loose a sound that resembled a scream as it burst apart as if by combustion. The gold sand glittered on the ground before dulling and Sandy gripped at his chest in a physical pain, a tiny, inaudible shocked gasp escaping at the sight of what had happened.

He heard the intake of breath before him and he looked up to lock eyes with Nature, the elder Guardian's own eyes wide with confusion and pain, almost as if she too had felt the death of the dream. Time's hands had stopped their motion and Sandy's hands shook as he considered what had just happened.

Because neither of the Guardians before him could move off of the thrones they had become a part of, it was Time's owl that finally fluttered down to inspect the situation. The owl, though old and wizened, gave Sandy the soft coo of a young bird mothering its chick and nibbled its beak against Sandy's arm. Sandy mindlessly patted the bird before the owl looked back at Time. Time crooked his fingers at the bird and the owl stepped its feathered leg into the dusty sand pile before gliding back to its shoulder perch, holding its appendage out for inspection.

Time ran his hands along the underside of the bird's foot, gathering a few grains between his own fingers. As he rolled them carefully, his eyes tightened minutely and immediately Nature was grabbing at his arm.

Sandy looked down at the pile that had once been a dream and felt his own heart constrict at the sight. No longer was the sand golden, but it was a dusky gray and when he attempted to call it back into the air and back to him, it remained an inanimate pewter smear on the marble floor.

"What is it, dear?" Nature asked quietly of Time and Sandy didn't want to acknowledge the confusion and fright that decorated her lyrical voice.

Time pinched the sand between his fingers tightly, so that his knuckles ran with fine tremors and his words were dragged from his throat as if with a rake. "It is death."

**/ / /**

Pitch sat lazily on his throne, watching his own thin chest rise and fall as he idly dragged his hand through the dust that decorated his throne chair. In the distance he heard something crack and give way, a cavern wall or a roof or even one of the many bridges that wound their way through his domain. Pitch had little care anymore; now that the Guardians were occupied he had little else to do aside from watching his kingdom continue to crumble.

He had been surprised when they came and went so quickly, clearly driven with the blind need to fix their youngest Guardian. He figured they'd keep busy with that and then stay away, giving him all the time he could need to lay on his throne and listen to the slow collapse of his decaying home and the wheezing breaths of his moldering nightmare that lay beside him, the thing having the desire to get up and trot like it had once but no longer possessing the ability to on broken and decrepit legs.

Pitch would be loath to admit he was surprised, then, when he saw the gold shimmers of dreamsand floating through the air as precursor to the Sandman making his appearance in his realm.

"Sanderson." Pitch drawled, easily masking his surprise. The visit wasn't completely unexpected but certainly earlier than he had anticipated.

Sandy looked at him for a long stretch before sand exploded above his head, Pitch's eyes darting back and forth to keep track. The fallen Nightmare King watched as beds, butterflies, a mother rocking a child, an explosion, and finally a skull and crossbones appeared above Sandy's head. When it was finished, the grains fell back around the Sandman and Pitch's frown had deepened, watching as Sandy's chest heaved in exertion and frustration.

Raising an eyebrow, Pitch shrugged his bony shoulders, one hand falling to rest on his mare's flank. The beast snorted at the welcome touch but did nothing more to acknowledge the gesture. Finally, Pitch sighed long suffering sigh. "Oh, my dear Sanderson. It is less a question of why you've come and more the inquiry as to why you would think I could help your…" He waved his hand in the air searchingly, "…predicament."

Sandy huffed, blowing sand steam out of his ears. He took a menacing few steps forward and shook his head, creating a stop watch and then a tree above his head, followed by the mother and child imagery once more.

Pitch rolled his eyes, "Yes, I was the one to tell you to go to the parents. What's your point?"

Above Sandy's head the image of his exploding butterfly repeated and Sandy almost winced at the scene. He created the picture of the Guardians sleeping and then the stop watch once more followed by the skull and crossbones.

"Well now you're just repeating yourself. Getting forgetful in your old age?" Pitch said but was stopped from saying anything else when a golden fist wrapped itself around his throat and shoved him against the back of his splintered throne. Pitch gurgled and gasped around the constriction and the Nightmare raised its head in an abandoned attempt to get to its creator, as it could not find the strength to aid him.

Pitch's eyes rolled angrily as he looked to Sandy, the fury that flashed in the Guardian's eyes reflected in the anger that sparked dangerously in Pitch's. The flood of rage coursed through his body like blood long lost, and Pitch raised an arm to wrap around the grainy wrist to attempt and pull Sandy off of him.

The Sandman merely shook his neck once, the image of two boxing gloves clashing together floating above his head. Pitch scowled and finally stopped pulling at Sandy's arm as he slumped his shoulders. Seemingly satisfied, Sandy let Pitch's throat go, watching as Pitch drew back into himself as the golden being took a step back, mouth twisted into a frown.

Pitch rubbed at his throat and coughed twice, voice rough as he spoke, "So testy, Sanderson." At the step forward once more, Pitch raised his hand up in surrender. He was not one to easily bow to another, but he knew when he would not win a fight, and this was not one he wanted to venture. "Fine. Yes, I sent you to Mother and Father with ulterior motives. Did you really not think to question me? I take no responsibility for your idiocy."

Question marks popped up angrily above Sandy's head, and Pitch mused silently at the Sandman's ability to angrily do anything without the use of his words or physical gestures.

Pitch propped his head up with one hand, the other continuing to massage his throat. "Shut up." He spat, "You think I don't know what's wrong with your precious Guardian of Fun?" He sneered and Sandy's expression darkened. Pitch waved him off irritably, "Stop with your act. Of course I knew. Not even our parents know what's truly wrong with the boy because they've never seen it happen in motion before, just the end result."

Sandy tilted his head in confusion and Pitch knew if he had had the energy he would have slapped the smaller being. "Me, you dolt! You pathetic excuse for a childhood creation." Sandy's eyes widened and Pitch watched as his gaze darted around the throne room as if looking for some kind of answer. Baring his teeth, Pitch hissed, "I know what is happening because I _lived_ it. And now there'll be another."

Imaged flashed above Sandy's head almost too fast to follow, but Pitch caught an arrow pointing at himself, a moon, and a monster lurking beneath a bed.

"I wasn't always the Nightmare King, Sanderson." Pitch said simply, bitterly, and he gripped his throne chair, black nails digging into the wood

A golden bandage appeared above Sandy's head and Pitch laughed. "_Fix it_? You really are simple minded, Sandman. You've done all I could want, why would I fix what _you've_ done? You took out three of the Guardians and I had nothing to do with it." Without waiting for the maddening question mark to pop up once more, Pitch continued, "You think you can send a soul into the mind of another without consequence? The shadows that ravage Jack Frost's mind and body are a virus, Sanderson. And it is highly contagious."

Sandy didn't wait for another word before he was back pedaling out of Pitch's domain and flying back through the opening in the ground, the haunting echo of Pitch's laughter following after him.

**/ / /**

"I don't want to think of what's coming next." Bunnymund muttered to his companions. They had stopped to look at a fracture in the glacier stone next to them. From the crack it wept black ink, the substance so thick it was congealing like tree sap inches from where it was gurgling out of the split.

"It can not be good." North muttered as he stuck his finger towards the glue. The Russian jumped back as the substance practically came alive and reached for him like some sort of plasma, wrapping itself around his finger. _"Chto za khernya!" _He shouted and he wiped the gunk off on his pants. He went to examine his finger and saw that is was grey, as though it had been deprived of blood, but was returning to its normal color quickly.

"That's not normal." Bunny observed as he took a quick sniff at the stuff before pulling away, wrinkling his nose. "Smells a bit like tar, if you ask me." As he pulled back his ears pricked at the slight hissing sound that the goop was making whenever one of them came near, as if it was a sort of snake hissing at them a warning.

"This stuff is coming from Jack." Tooth spoke quietly, cautious about what she was saying. "We are in Jack's head. I know we're all thinking it, but I wonder if this is what was causing the problems earlier. It's corrosive. Whatever this is, it's like a cavity. If we don't get to the root of the problem it's going to eat away at the molar before going to infect his whole mouth."

The other two shared a grimace with each other before nodding gravely. "Then we have no need to decide what do be doing." North said, "We are all in agreement that we will continue on!"

"That's a given, mate. It's what we're gonna find I'm not so sure about." Bunny swore and led them forward. North and Tooth nodded as they trailed behind him, neither thinking to look back to notice the glowing gold eyes watching them from the walls. Nor did they hear the bone chilling howls that reverberated deep within the ice sheets.

**/ / /**

The wolf watched the group through a yellow haze, the sepia tint warping the world that it saw through the ice. It jerked its head back to its companions, the other four creatures practically thrumming with the energy and desire to leap from the glacial walls and rip the jugulars from the trespassing souls.

The wolf growled low in its throat, a warning to its companions to stay where they were. They had gotten no go ahead from their master to attack the things, no matter how badly the wolf's jaw ached with the need to break bone and rip flesh and muscle, to feel blood hot enough to melt its teeth drip down its chin.

But it was wolf before it was ice, and its cold heart could not override its sense of loyalty. So it watched the things walk away, watched mesmerized at the fluttering of wings and the smell of wild animal and the colors of red and white that stood out so starkly against the sepia tinted blue of the world that the wolf saw.

Tossing its head back, the wolf howled deep into the glacier, listening as its companions picked up and followed suit.

**/ / /**

"It can feel them." The dark thing that looked like Jack hissed and Jack looked up, head hanging heavy in exhaustion. His vision blurred grey at the corners and the world danced with fluxuating spots of red. When he didn't immediately respond, Dark gripped Jack's white hair and smacked it back against the ice.

With a guttural moan Jack finally looked Dark in the eyes. "What… do you mean?" He asked, voice slurred and sounding as though he was rolling marbles in his mouth.

Delighted that Jack had responded, Dark grinned, "The shadow. It knows they're there. It wants them." He said, humming as if he had taken a bite of something delicious, "I want them."

"Want them for...what?"

"I want them because they're _light_." Dark snarled and he turned to Jack, the Guardian cringing back unintentionally at the look of hatred that seeped into the yellow eyes like liquid fire. "And after you're too weak to do anything about it, you'll watch as they fall under. And once you're broken, what part of you is going to be left to keep me inside?"

Jack swallowed thickly, tasting the blood that ran down his throat from a broken nose and the pull on busted lips and a bruised throat. He watched as Dark turned around before he allowed himself to drop his head. Deep inside his chest he could feel the pull, the spark that made him who he was. He concentrated on that light like a flickering torch in the dark. He drew comfort from it, and as it was still lit, Jack still had strength. He didn't know how much, and while he hoped that the Guardians would come, because he knew that they could reignite it, he also wished they would have just stayed away.


End file.
